The Emancipation of Fred Benson
by Moviepal
Summary: Freddie has been around the girls so long that they take him for granted. Well now that their in college, he's had enough. Freddie is dead baby,LONG LIVE FRED!
1. Not Just One Of The Girls

The Emancipation of Fred Benson

Not Just One of the Girls

This story takes place during the groups second year of college. In this story iOMG happened, but nothing was ever done about it! Enjoy. Oh, by the way in answer to the pm I got on one of my stories that I took down; I don't put disclaimers because I figure you already know that I'm not the owner of iCarly. There, now you have your disclaimer! LOL

The trio sat in "BIG JIM'S" pub, drinking and going over the week's events. Carly had broken up with Tim. 'No big surprise there,' Freddie thought. The guy was just out for the lay and he thought Carly would be his next victim. Sam's boyfriend of the week, Will, had also turned out to be less than stellar in the faithful department. That poor bastard was still looking for his nuts.

Every few days Freddie would endure these nights out and depending on the night, the guy, or the phase of the moon, Freddie would hear how wonderful or how awful the latest guy was. He was the crying shoulder for them both. He tossed back his third Jack and coke, hold the coke, and grunted as it lit a fire down his throat to his stomach. For the past, well really, most of his life he was with, near or in contact with both women and he had come to the conclusion that it was doing him permanent harm. The waitress came by and he held up two fingers and pointed to his glass. She nodded and went back to the bar. When she returned he handed her a twenty and told her to keep the change. The whole time that this had gone on, Carly and Sam had droned on and on about the lack of a decent man to be found around the campus, and Freddie finally and for all time snapped.

"Oh for the love of God will you two shut the Fuck up?" Freddie slammed the glass down with such force that it shattered on impact. Sam and Carly were shocked by the outburst, as was the whole bar. Even the jukebox stopped playing.

"For more years than I can remember," Freddie started, far to buzzed to care anymore what anyone thought, "I've listened to the two of you drone on and on about how "hot" this guy is or how "smoking" this other guy is and then by the end of the week I have to hear about what a "low life son-of-a-bitch" he is or what a "loser" or a "pencil or needle dick" he turns out to be. Then I'm forced to hear how great it would be if you could both just meet someone like me, only not ME! I ask you both here and now, WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN? I know more about the two of you than you know about yourselves! I've sat at various times with each of you through break-ups, unrequited love, family problems, and do you know what I got out of all of that, I GOT DICK! Is either one of you even aware that my mom had a heart attack last summer and almost died? No! Because last summer was the summer of Brad and Gibby. I sat at the hospital, ALONE, for four weeks while the four of you made out and shacked up. Then when it all went south on you, you both came and cried on my shoulder about what jerks they were. Add to that them coming to me and telling me about how the two of you have such a high ideal of what a boyfriend should that no one could fill it, BUT ME!"

Freddie's rant now had the entire bar silent and both girls red faced and stunned into silence themselves, "This is the way my life has been every since we became friends. You want someone just like me, only not me! What kind of fucking logic is that? And because you two monopolize so much of my time, the few girls out there that see that I'm really a nice catch stay away because," he held up one finger, " one, they think I'm dating one or both of you," he held up a second finger, "two, they think that maybe I'm in love with one or both of you," he held up a third finger, "They think that because we spend so much time together that I'm GAY," he held up a fourth, "And lastly, the guys that think I'm cute and would ask me out, not that I'm gay, but they won't ask me out because of, you guessed it, you two. I've had it! Neither one of you asked about the summer abroad program that I applied for, well I got it, three months of studies at Oxford in England."

"I'm tired of the two of you thinking that I'm one of the girls," Freddie stood and ripped open his shirt exposing the hairy and very toned and chiseled chest underneath, and every woman in the bar, including Carly and Sam felt the heat go way up at the sight of it, "I'm six foot three inches tall and in the middle of my last growth spurt according to my doctor, I weight one hundred and ninety pounds, I can bench press three hundred pounds without much effort, and I'll lay you odds that my dick is bigger and better that most of the so called men in this bar right. I never measured the thing, but I could give John Holmes a run for his money," at that he pulled down his pants and showed a very impressive bulge in his fruit of the looms. This brought out cat calls and whistles from all over the bar, and two bouncers from the front door.

Freddie pulled his pants back up and held his hands out to the men, "Relax guys, just proving a point."

The bartender smiled and nodded her head and the men returned to the door.

"As to your question Sam, unlike Brad, I assure you that I do know how to use "all my pencil" as at two women at this bar can attest, although I won't mention any names," Freddie grinned as he caught Sam looking at his crotch.

"I'll be happy to attest to that fact," Cindy Bates, the dark skinned head cheerleader, stood up and winked at Freddie, "he's the best kept secret on campus!"

Her boyfriend started to say something, but Cindy cut him off, "Darrel, as soon as we met, Fred and I stopped seeing each other. He knew I love you and didn't want to stand in the way, so just shut up! Fred baby, you go right ahead."

"I'll speak up," Sandra the bartender shouted out, "Fred and I been fuck buddies for almost Two years and girls that man can "Write his name" like nobody's business!"

Sandra was about Thirty years old and was the hottest woman in the bar. Every guy in the place had at least once entertained the idea of sleeping with the stunning blonde with the awesome set of D-cups. No one ever had, at least till now, ever been able to accomplish this goal. The crowd settled into a quite buzz over her statement.

Sam and Carly were unsure of what to do or say, but both women found themselves aroused by the whole scene and by the very confident and in control Freddie, no , Fred that stood before them.

"You ladies didn't have to speak up, but I thank you," he smiled and winked at them both, he then turned back to Sam and Carly, "So as you can see, I'm not just of the girls. At various times in my life I've had crushes or been in love with you both, but you both chose not to pursue anything with me and as much as that hurt, I went along with that, because that what good "pal" Freddie did. Well Freddie is DEAD, LONG LIVE FRED! I'll be leaving Friday morning for England, I have a date in twenty minutes with Sandra upstairs, that leaves you two just two days to decide just what you want to do with the information you have learned here tonight. Freddie waited till he just dropped dead. Fred has got a pair of balls on him and he doesn't wait or take a backseat to anyone anymore. You've both had enough time to see and compare what's out there, I don't think you'll find anyone better for either of you than me," with That he walked over to Carly and lifted her out of her chair and placed a thirty second kiss on her that made Carly's shoes fall off and left her with a tingling between her legs. He sat her back down and picked Sam up out of her chair and planted a kiss on her. Sam's body went into automatic, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her hands through his hair. Sam let a deep throated moan escape her and felt herself go wet as he danced his tongue in and out of her mouth. All too soon he pulled her away and sat her back down in the chair. He grinned at both of them and said, "If that didn't open your eyes, then it's too late."

"Fred honey," Sandra called from the bar, "Henry's here so we can go now. I've got some "dicKation" for you to do!"

Fred grinned at the two women and wiggled his eyebrows at them and said, "Don't wait up ladies, I won't be home tonight."

He walked to the bar and effortlessly lifted Sandra off the bar, where she was sitting, and carried her up the steps to the top floor. Several minutes later the bar got quiet as the ceiling fixtures over some of the tables began to sway back and forth and what sounded like a jackhammer being used. Everyone either laughed quietly to themselves or looked at the fixtures with envy. Carly was lost in a fantasy about her and Fred and an island, while Sam was lost in a fantasy of her and Fred back at the apartment they all three shared and Fred slamming her into the mattress with all his might.

The next morning Sam and Carly awoke and found that Fred had indeed not been home all night. They both felt strange about that situation.

"How many nights, when one of us had someone here, do you think Fred had someone he stayed with? " Carly asked.

"I don't even want to think about it," Sam said sulking at the breakfast table, "Was he really at the library studying all those nights he came back late? I never heard him say a word about his mom being sick, did you?"

"No," Carly admitted, "but then again I never asked or gave him the opportunity to either. Sam, have we really been overlooking Fred that badly? I mean are we that shallow, that we just treated him like one of the girls and didn't notice that he'd grown up?"

"As much as I hate to say it, yes we are, " Sam said with a very sad tone, "I think we just looked at him as little Freddie, our tech geek, and truth be told, both of our back-up plan for a guy, and didn't see him as a man. Although last night when I wrapped my legs around him I felt his "pencil" and Jesus, have I been missing out?"

"What did he mean about Brad?" Carly asked her.

"Never mind," Sam said sharply, "Let's just say that was a month and a half of "two pumps and a grunt", I never got to find mine!

"At least you knew something was going on," Carly laughed, "I had to take Gibby's word for it that we did anything!"

Both women laughed at the sad shape of their love lives. Between the two of them they had dated ten guys since they had started college and every one of them had failed them miserable when it came down to love. Once or twice they had found good sex partners, but those had turned into cheating S.O.B.'s or in one case a bi-sexual. Fred's wakeup call last night had hit them both very hard. Sam was especially struck with how she had fuck up what could have been something great with him by trying to play it off as no big deal when she had kissed him. She had said it was just to shut him up and had cringed inside when she saw how hurt he was. For two months afterwards, he made sure that he was never alone with her and even after then, he spent six months only talking when spoken to. They had finally gotten back to some kind of close friendship when Sam met Gil and Freddie was the one who came through for her when he had pushed her out of his car at the lake for not going down on him. She had cried on his shoulder for two weeks and he never once mentioned to her that he had said Gil was an asshole. He hadn't tried anything with her either. More than once it had crossed her mind and she had even tried to kiss him once, but he said no that that wasn't what she needed right now. He had bailed her out when Roger, the "love of my life" turned out to be the love of many girls lives. That one had taken a month to get over, and he never left her side. Chad had been someone that she knew better than to date, but let the fact that he had given her one great night in bed blind her to the fact that Chad "pitched" for both teams. Dean was someone that she just knew was the one, despite the fact that Freddie told her he was a player and begged her not to go out with him, she had accused him of being jealous and even slapped his face, but when Dean had turned out to be just as Freddie had said he was Freddie had remained quiet and came to pick her up at the party where she found Dean and some tramp getting it on. He walked in got her, punched Dean in the mouth when Dean called her a bitch and a whore, and drove her back to the apartment. He never said a word, but for two days he held her and for the rest of last year till spring, never left her side and even made her laugh.

How did she repay him for all those times he had been there for her and kept her from falling apart? She went after his good friend Brad that summer and even lived with him for a month before she saw that she really felt nothing for the boy. She lived with him and slept with him while Freddie had sat in the hospital wondering if his mother was going to live or die. She never once asked or even talked to him about how his life was going. He had cared for her, taken care of her, saved her, and always been there for her and she had shit on him at every turn. She knew something was wrong over the summer, but she was having a good time and didn't want him to kill her buzz. 'God what a coldhearted bitch you are,' Sam thought to herself. Then had come Will this week, she never got past making out with him till she found out he had a string of girls. She had put her knee so far up his nuts that he still hadn't found them yet.

Class time rolled around and Fred still didn't show. The women got ready and walked across the street to the quad and into the mathematical arts building. When they walked into class they were both surprised to see Fred sitting in his spot and Julia Dixon sitting beside him with her hand in his. Julia was a small, about five foot tall, slightly overweight blonde with glasses and she hadn't had a boyfriend since she had arrived at college, well even before college, she didn't date. She was a little plain, but not unattractive, and guys overlooked her. Sam and Carly had known her for the past year, and had become friends with her. She had mentioned on more than one occasion that she thought Freddie was cute and wanted to "jump his bones" one time. The two leaned in and kissed very passionately. Carly and Sam's mouths dropped open at the site.

After the kiss, Julia noticed the women and got up and ran over to them. She was jumping around like she had ingested an entire bag of sugar.

"Sam, Carly, you'll never guess what happened," she practically gushed at them, "I was in the quad crying last night about being left out of all the fun things that go on here and Fred, he told me to call him Fred, came and sat down by me at about twelve thirty last night and started to talk to me about why I was crying. Well I told him and we started talking and well he got me to laughing and I remembered what you said to me once Sam, and well I kissed him. I told him I just wanted someone to make me feel special for the night," a huge grin crossed her face and made Sam think that this girl is beautiful, "Well one thing lead to another and, I GOT LAID LAST NIGHT! For the first time in my life, I DID THE NASTY! You guys didn't tell me that it would be so FUCKING great! Jesus are they all so big, I mean it hurt at first, but then, oh my God, do you always have more than one orgasm. I think I passed out at one point."

Sam found herself choking back a laugh at that remark. Oh this girl was in for a rude awaking when she met the rest of the male population. As upset as she was by the thought of Freddie putting it to two women last night, she found herself strangely attracted to him because he had seen Julia in pain and had once again become a knight in shining armor for a woman and he had ruined it for every guy who came after. Sam was really beginning to see that Freddie, Fred, was perhaps one of the best and hottest men that she had ever seen or known.

"So are you two going to date now?" Carly asked more than just a little surprised at the turn of events.

"No, I really like Fred," she smiled at them both, "but he's leaving for England and I don't think long distance relationships are very workable."

The rest of the day was a trip into the surreal for the women. Fred's outburst at the bar had become the talk of the campus and was creeping into the zone of legend. Sam noticed that every scank on campus was macking on Fred like he was a treat. For his part, Fred paid them little attention. Unfortunately Fred also ignored her and Carly as well.

They all three made it home about three thirty that afternoon, and Fred hadn't said a word to either of them. Sam threw down her book bag and went to the refrigerator and got some ham and a beer, "You guys want a beer?" she asked over her shoulder.

"No thanks," Carly said and started to her room.

"I'll take one Puckett," Fred said.

Carly stopped and Sam turned around at the same time and stared at Fred, "Holy shit," Sam spoke to him, "it speaks. I thought you had given up speaking to us for lint."

"Ha, ha," he frowned at her, "Can I get the beer or what?"

"Sure," she walked over and handed him the beer. Carly went and got one for herself and then joined them in the living room.

"Freddie, I mean FRED," Carly started, "We had no idea about your mom, how is she doing?"

"God, you two are really clueless," Fred shook his head, "She died Carly, six weeks ago, you know when I took those three days off from school."

Sam and Carly both spit out the beer they were drinking, "Oh Jesus Freddie," Sam said, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I did," he spit back at her, "But you two were so caught up in the Brad and Gibby show that you never showed. Super Wang and Small Scrotum were more important than me putting my mother in the ground. I have NO living family anymore did either one of you know that? Do either one of you care?"

He sat the beer down and stood up, "For over ten years whenever you guys needed me I was there for you, one fucking time I needed you guys to give me some kind of love and support and you two can't even find the time to show up. I buried her by myself. NO ONE CAME! NO ONE!"

Both women hung their heads in shame.

"Look, I'll get over all this and we can be friends again," he said, "But right now I really need to be as far away from you two as I can. My plane leaves Friday morning at seven. If you guys want to come say bye, that would be cool. I'm going to pack now and stay out someplace. I think it's best if we don't see each other till then."

He walked into his room and packed quickly and left. The women never lifted their heads as he walked out, they just said "Bye."

Sam got up and went to the kitchen and got two bottles of Makers Mark whisky and two glasses and returned to the living room.

"Well I feel like shit, how about you?" Sam asked.

Carly looked up with tears in her eyes, "We are a couple of selfish cunt's aren't we?"

"Carls that's the understatement of the year," Sam said as she poured both of them shots.

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Well I hope you guys enjoy this one. This one sprang from real life, believe it or not. I have a good idea where I want this to go, but I need you to tell me if you want more, so Please let me know!

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Shout out to pigwiz and my other good friend seddieSUPERFAN101


	2. On our own, Together

The Emancipation of Fred Benson

On our own, Together

Thursday was a very bad day. Sam had four classes with Fred and it hurt to be in the same room with him and not be able to speak to him. Of course everything hurt worse because of the massive hangover she had. She and Carly had downed the better part of the bottle of whiskey they had been drinking last night, and now her whole body was letting her know that it didn't like that at all.

For his part Fred looked great, maybe a little too great for her taste. He seemed to fill every part of her mind.

Sam had never really been out of "like" with Fred, she had just done what she always did with him, well what She and Carly both did about him, stunk a pin in him and put him to the side. He had become both their "back-up plan" for a rainy day. Till he brought it up, she had never noticed how much of her life he had touched. Every major event but the loss of her virginity, which she wished she had shared with him also, he was a part of. He was right about the comparing other men to him when she dated.

For his part, Fred found a measure of peace in his little blow up. The death of his mother had hit him hard, but the fact that the two people he counted on most had been so wrapped up in their lives to notice the pain he was in just caused the little fuse in his brain to fry. He shot glances at Sam when she wasn't looking, and marveled at how even when he was angry at her he could still find her so damned attractive. Especially when he knew that he had no place in her heart.

Brad had been the nail that forever cut him off from Sam, he had spent so much time with her after Will, that he thought maybe this would be the time when she saw him for who and what he was. Instead she had latched on to Brad and Fred felt his heart shatter. He had spent the rest of the summer at the hospital with his mom. The women had moved into the beach house that they, Gibby, and Brad had rented for the summer and left him alone. He had tried to call them, but they never answered and messages went unanswered. He sat in his mom's room everyday and held her hand. She never woke up and just slipped away. His mother was such an extreme person that no one but Fred showed up for it.

That was when he finally took stock of his life. He had let women run and dictate his whole life. His mom, Carly, and Sam, they all drove his life for him and he let them. That was when he had applied for the summer abroad program. He would go some place where he could be his own man for a change, and not have to cater to the women in his life.

Lunch rolled around and Carly and Sam met at the meal hall and got food. Fred walked in and sat a table by himself. Very quickly a very diverse group of people come up to join him. Jocks, geeks, tech nerds, preppies, and even some of the cool crowd and it makes Sam smile. Fred always did have a way of bring people together. Some of the people sitting and laughing at his table would normally be picking on each other, but around Fred, the geek and the jock are laughing together and sharing fries. Nerds who shouldn't stand a chance are sitting with their arms around cheerleader and they look happy. Fred looks happy, he seems at peace with himself. Sam is struck by just how handsome Fred really is, how full of life he is. His eyes have a glow about them and all she can think of is how wonderful it would be to look into those eyes and see the heat and passion in them that she felt being returned to her. Julia walked up to the group and Fred got up to let her sit down and once again Sam noticed that Julia wasn't plain at all, she was beautiful. She was beautiful because Fred made her that way. She was beautiful because he had made her see it in herself and now everyone could see it.

When had Fred become a man she wondered? He was everything most of these boys a college weren't. 'Christ, I fucked up bad,' Sam thought. The question that polled around in her brain was, 'can I fix this?'

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Sam threw her pillow at the alarm clock, but missed it, and the old fashioned wind-up clock continued to ring. Sam was just raising up to fire another pillow at it when she saw that it was almost six-thirty in the morning.

"Shit I'm going to miss saying goodbye to Freddie," she yelled out loud to no one. She had tried, but she just couldn't call him Fred anymore. He was always going to be Freddie to her and that was that. She ran to the bathroom and splashed water on her face and yelled to Carly about getting up to see Freddie off. They rushed out the door and got into Sam's car and raced to the airport.

Fred was standing just inside the waiting area of the flight to New York when he heard Sam and Carly yelling his name. He smiled to himself and waved at the pair as they came up to him.

"Thank God," Carly said out of breath, "We were afraid that we had missed you. You take care of yourself Fred," she leaned in and gave him a very passionate kiss. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip and ran her tongue in his mouth when he opened his lips. Fred pulled away and stared at her with a look of amazement.

"Carly, what the hell was that," he asked her as he wiped his mouth.

"Sorry," she said red faced, "I um kind of lost my head.

Fred smiled and just told her, "it's ok."

Sam stepped up and held her arms open and pulled Fred into a big hug, "You be real careful Freddie," she smiled up at him, "I know, but no way in hell will you ever be a "Fred" to me, she smiled at him.

He grinned back at her and said, "Fair enough, Samantha."

Sam looked up at him again and just grinned. As she looked at him, she leaned her head to the side and began to stand on her toes, Fred tilted his head and began to lean down. Somewhere in the middle they met and their eyes closed and the world exploded.

Sam felt the kiss reach to the bottom of her feet. It had been years since she had really kissed Freddie, and she was amazed at the way it still lit up her insides. She wanted to just melt into the kiss and become part of his body. This is where she was meant to be in his arms, how could she have ever thought that she belonged anywhere else.

"Oceanic Flight 815 to London with a stop at New York is now boarding," the loud speaker announced.

Sam and Freddie broke apart and leaned their heads against each other. Sam found that she couldn't form words at all and just looked into Freddie's eyes.

He smiled at her and ran his thumb down her cheek, "Stay blonde Puckett and watch out for the boys at the beach. I know you'll find yourself a good one day if you look hard enough."

He let her go and grabbed his bag and began to walk toward the gate.

"I think I already found the one," she whispered as she waved at him as he walked through the gate to the plane.

Fred's plane sat down on the tarmac at JFK airport at about twelve-thirty and he had a forty minute layover before the flight continued on to London. Fred walked to the little sandwich shop and ordered a hamburger and fries. His mom would freak at his diet, and he felt a slight tug at his heart as the idea hit him. She would never have stood for this trip if she was alive and he thought maybe that was part of the reason why he had applied for the program anyway. The summer abroad program was just what he needed, a chance to get away from everyone and everything, and finally find out just who the hell Fred was for the first time in his life. He had been the iCarly tech producer, the boy who had a crush on Carly, the boy Sam liked to beat up and make fun of, the boy that Sam had a crush on, the boy who everyone went to when they needed to talk, and during it all somewhere along the way he stopped being a real person in anyone's eyes. He had hoped college would change some of that, but once again he found himself wrapped up in his friend's life to the exclusion of his own.

The third week of school, while sitting at the bar for the weeks boyfriend's are jerks talk, he had gone to the bar for the round of drinks and Sandra had filled them and asked him if he dated either of the girls. He told her no and she asked why he spent so much time with them then. He had told her the whole story and she had smiled at him and told him he was a very good friend and that the two girls were "fucking idiots" for not seeing that the best guy in the place was sitting right across from them. He had smiled at her and thanked her. When the bar closed, Fred had taken Carly back to the apartment first, she was so lit that she thought she was doing an iCarly skit and started playing the dumb farm girl who thinks her best friend is a horse. Any other time it might have been funny and maybe even a little arousing, he could have totally banged her and she would have never known. Alas, Fred wasn't that kind of guy, so he put her to bed and came back for Sam. Sam was in a much more lucid state, still drunk off her ass, but she could walk and was horny as hell. Sandra asked him to swing back by after he got her home and he had said ok.

After getting the very aroused Sam into the bed, Fred walked back to the bar and met Sandra. She asked him why he wasn't out with some girl on a Friday night give her the high hard one instead of taking care of to whining drunk chicks that couldn't see a hot piece of ass that was sitting right in front of them. He had laughed and thanked her, but had said he wasn't a "hot piece" and that he was their friend and he had to make sure they were ok. Sandra smiled at him and called him a "knight in white armor" and touched his face. She then told him her story of a husband who liked the ladies and the ponies and had had bad luck with both. He had left her high and dry when he went "fishing" with the local loan shark, but she had pulled herself together and managed to get a job at the bar. After a few years she bought half of the bar and took over the day to day running of it from the old man who wanted to spend more time with his wife. She told him how after two years she had bought the bar out right and now lived upstairs. They had talked for two hours before either one of them knew it. He wasn't sure which one of them leaned in first, but suddenly they were playing tonsil hunt with each other. He had lifted her onto the bar when she pulled his shirt off and had removed her panties. He had heard about the alphabet theory of oral sex and tried it out. He composed a letter to his dead father and was rewarded with an ear splitting orgasm from Sandra. She then began to return the favor. She removed his pants and underwear and had gasped and looked up at him. She asked him if he'd ever use this "weapon" on a woman and he had told her no. She had grinned and told him that they need to go upstairs because she needed to see if he knew what to do with "it".

Three hours and six orgasms later she had her answer. Twice a week, every week, except when his mother was sick, they had gotten together and "cleaned the pipes" for each other. Somewhere in that time Cindy Bates had seen Fred one night and struck up a conversion with him and they found that they had a lot in common. One thing lead to another and for two weeks Cindy got the other two nights that Sandra didn't. He was amazed that his friends never noticed a thing.

He finished his burger and went back to the gate to sit and wait for the flight to board. He noticed a blonde girl surrounded by several men in dark cloths talking to a tall thin man with gray hair. He had to be her father, because they looked somewhat alike. They spoke French, which intrigued Fred, because it was one of four languages that he spoke fluently. German, Spanish, and Japanese were the others. He chuckled to himself at the fact that none of his friends knew that he spoke those languages.

"Oceanic Flight 815 to London is now boarding at gate 239," the loud speaker announced.

Freddie got up and let the woman and her female friend go in front of him. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. They walked onto the plane and he was pleasantly surprised that they were sitting in the same row. He had seat one and she moved quickly into seat two as her friend smiled and took seat three. They said nothing to each other at the time, they just smiled at each other.

After the flight leveled out the airhostess came by and offered drinks. Both women ordered a coke and Fred asked for a Dr. Pepper. The airhostess gave them honey peanuts and then began to pore the drinks. She passed Fred his drink and then tried to hand the woman hers. The woman couldn't seem to grab the drink and hold the three packs of peanuts and turned to Fred and asked in light French accent English, "Could you please hold these nuts for me?"

Fred grinned at her and in French said, "I normally don't handle other people's nuts, but ok," as he took them from her.

She burst out laughing as she took the drink and Fred thought it sounded like an angel laughing. She blushed at him and then in French said, "I can take them back now, I'll even hold yours if you like, I rather enjoy holding handsome men's nuts."

It was Fred's turn to almost choke on his drink as he laughed. The two of them laughed so hard that people started to look at them.

"Fred, Fred Benson," he said to her in English, as he extended his hand to her.

"Noel, Noel Channel," she smiled at him and extended her own hand.

They touched hands and a current passed between them.

"So, Mr. Benson, what brings you to England?" Noel asked.

"Summer abroad program at Oxford, and you?" he grinned his million dollar best.

Noel found herself blushing at his grin, and found herself wanting to drown in his eyes, "The same, I was in New York visiting my father, he works for the U.N."

"Well I guess we're going to be seeing a lot of each other then," he smiled at her and thought he was very glad for this trip.

The two of them talked for the next hour and a half, till Fred had to go to the bathroom. After he got up to go, Noel turned to her Friend Marie and said, "Marie, I'm in so much trouble."

"How's that?" Marie asked her.

"I'm falling in love with that man," she smiled at her friend.

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Sam had been in a funk ever since Freddie had left. It had been two weeks and she had found that his absence was indeed making her heart grow fonder for him. She had let Carly drag her to this shitty party, and she was miserable. The guys here only reminded her that Freddie was such a catch and that the rest of these guys were just pale imitations of him. She sat in the corner and drank the foul concoction that the guys who were having the party called "punch." About all it was really good for was getting "fucked up", which she was well on her way to doing. She looked over at Carly, who was dancing with some jerk who was trying to shove his tongue down her throat, and Sam wondered just what the hell she was doing here.

"Yo, pretty momma," some drunk jackass said to her as he felt her ass, "how's about we find an empty room and I rock your world!"

"How about you take your hand off my ass and I don't rip your dick off and force feed it to you, sound good," Sam gritted her teeth at him.

"Oh my," he grinned at her, "I love it rough baby!"

Sam grabbed his "package" and swung him around till he was flying out the door of the room and down the steps.

"Come on Carly," Sam grabbed her friend and shoved "tongue boy" out of the way and began to walk toward the door, "This place blows, and if we don't leave, we may end up blowing ourselves."

Sam wondered what Freddie was doing right now.

.

.

Well I hope you liked this chapter. I got tired of reading stories of Sam dating someone else and Freddie always being the one who has to sit and pine away for her as she has a romance with some guy. Well it's Freddie's turn. If you have read my stuff you may recognize the name of Noel from "The Courtship Of Nathan's Father". This is indeed the same Noel who was Freddie's wife in that story. I think Sam needs a run for her money.

As always, please let me know what you think!


	3. Sometimes it just happens

Sometimes it just happens

The first three weeks that Fred had spent in England had been amazing. The classes were amazing and he was learning so much. He also found that he made a whole new set of friends. The "gang of twelve" as they had become known, cut quite a path through pubs around town. Fred and Noel had become great friends and spent a good deal of time together. Fred had noticed very early on that he found it easy to spend time with her and that they had an unspoken bond between them. They could almost read each other's minds it seemed at times.

For her part, Noel was sure by the third day of spending time with him, that Fred was THE ONE! His grin was infectious, his laugh was like a breeze in the summer, and his eyes were something she wanted to get lost in. She found him to be a mystery, he was confident in his own skin, yet he wasn't even aware of how good looking he was. He seemed not to notice the many clues that she was trying so hard to leave for him.

It was Friday night and she was going to break through the wall and get him to notice that she was head over heels in love him. She had worked with Marie on the plan all week. Everyone knew what to do and all that was left was for Fred to open his eyes.

Fred and Noel arrived at seven-thirty at the "Wave" dance club and found that they were the first to arrive. Fred felt his phone vibrate and looked to see a text that the group would be late getting there. Fred and Noel ordered drinks and began the daily ritual of what went on where and who was doing what. Fred loved these talks that they had. Noel was so easy to talk to and was so funny and smart, he found that he could finally be himself and not worry about what anyone thought about him. They had been talking for about forty minutes when a song started to play that Noel had requested and she asked him to dance with her. One thing about Fred was he never really thought of himself as a dancer, but with Noel's help he had gotten to the point that he didn't mind dancing in public. He took her hand and they walked to the floor and as the song began, he placed his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck and they began to sway to the music.

I don't know boy...  
>I think I maybe<br>fallin' for you

Dropping so quickly  
>Maybe I should<br>keep this to myself

Waiting 'til I..  
>know you better<br>I am trying..  
>Not to tell you..<br>But I want to..

I'm scared of what you'll say  
>So I'm hiding..<br>What I'm feeling..  
>But I'm tired of<br>Holding this inside my head

I've been spending all my..time  
>Just thinking about ya<br>I don't know what to do  
>I think I'm fallin' for you<p>

Noel laid her head on Fred's shoulder as they danced. She was as happy and contented as she had ever been in her life. This man had awakened every part of her being. She knew he wasn't like any other man she had ever met. He was strong, kind, he listened to her, and she knew that he would never hurt her or let anyone else hurt her. She could see them in a yard somewhere with children and a dog, happy and at peace with the world. She closed her eyes and breathed in his smell.

Fred swayed along to the music and found himself in a complete state of bliss. He knew that it wouldn't last, it never did, someone would come along and she would go off with them and he would be alone again, like always. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, that was his lot in life. He would always be in the friend zone. Allowed to view the flowers, but never pick them. He turned around once with her and breathed in the scent of her hair.

I've been waiting all my.. life  
>and now I found ya<br>I dont know what to do  
>I think I'm falling for you...<br>I'm falling for you...

As I'm standing here  
>And you hold my hand<br>Pull me towards you  
>and we start to dance<p>

All around us  
>I see nobody<br>Here in silence  
>It's just<br>you and me

I'm trying..  
>Not to tell you..<br>But I want to..

I'm scared of what you'll say

So I'm hiding..  
>what I'm feeling...<br>But I'm tired of  
>Holding this inside my head<p>

I've been spending all my.. time  
>Just thinking about ya<br>I dont know what to do  
>I think i'm fallin' for you<p>

I've been waiting all my.. life  
>And now I found ya<br>I dont know what to do  
>I think I'm fallin' for you...<br>I'm fallin' for you...

Noel raised her head and looked Fred in the eyes and smiled, "Would you kiss me?"

Fred looked shocked at her, "But what about your boyfriend? Don't you think he'll be upset if I did?"

Noel grinned and shook her head, "For three weeks now we have spent almost everyday together, when have I ever said anything to make you think that I had a boyfriend?"

"Well, I mean, I just thought that…" Fred stumbled and stammered over his words trying to find an answer to her question, but none was forthcoming, "Why would you want me to…"

"For such an intelligent man," Noel smiled at him and shook her head, "You can be very stupid and nonobservant. I have been trying to get you to notice me and to see that I've hopelessly fallen in love with you. You are the most remarkable man I have ever met and if you don't kiss me soon, I may just have to take one by force."

'I have to be the worlds biggest jackass' Fred thought to himself. He really had been out of touch with the world all of those years living in the shadows of Carly and Sam.

Fred leaned down as Noel stood on her tip toes and they kissed.

The world went white for them both for a minute and then it was just the two of them. Time stopped and they drifted in their own little universe. Their tongues danced with each other and they pulled themselves as close as they possibly could. Slowly they began to feel a rush of heat pass between them and then the noise of the room began to filter back in.

They broke apart and just stared at each other in silence. They both felt the urge at the same time. They grabbed each other and the second kiss was much more animalistic than the first. With this kiss they seemed to need to consume each other. Noel's hands roamed over Fred's back and his hair. Fred's hands ran down the side of Noel's body and settled on her ass.

"Hmwho mua ta rruck mmm," Noel said as they battled it out with their tongues.

"Rill ume count ofm it cum ant whaa," Fred replied to her and they then broke apart, out of breath and looking like they could just go for it right where they were at.

"We've got to get the hell out of here and get to my apartment, NOW," Noel said in a very husky voice.

"Yeah, I'd say that better happen soon," Fred looked at her as if he was already removing her cloths.

She met his gaze with her own lust filled one, "NOW, or we go to the bathroom and do it, and I don't want our first time to be in a bathroom."

They left the club and ran the three blocks to her flat. Even before the door closed cloths were flying across the room. By the time they made it to the bed underwear was all either of them had on. Fred removed her bra and began to kiss her breast. Noel's head fell back and a loud moan escaped her lips. Fred kissed on down and then composed a letter to Noel in French. Noel screamed in delight and began to speak in both French and English. The words she used were very colorful to say the least. At some point the man upstairs came down and began beating on the door, "Hey, hey, you in there," he yelled, "have a heart mate, make her cum. I got two kids upstairs that want to know when she's going, so just make her cum, you're killing us here!"

After Noel caught her breath, she began to kiss down Fred's chest till she got to his tented boxers. She looked up at him and ran her hand inside the shorts. Her eyes went wide as her hand danced over his "member" and it grew in her hand.

"Oh my," she exclaimed, "I had no idea that you were so "gifted" sir," she smiled at him with a look of lust on her face.

"Do I meet with your approval, my lady," Fred stared right back at her.

"Je fais assurément sir et j'ai l'intention de vous monter jusqu'à ce je ne peux pas marcher plus," Noel said to him in French and began her attack.

Fred groaned and laid his head back, "Ah merde qui se sent si bon."

Noel kissed her way back up toward his chest and began to play with the hair as she readied herself for him to penetrate her, "Veuillez Fred, I need you inside of me, mettez-le en moi!"

They spent the night making love and talking. They never left the bed the entire weekend, except to eat and use the bathroom. When they returned to classes on Monday, they were the object of many stares and grins, but neither cared, they were far too much in love to care.

.

.

.

Freddie had been gone for a month, and Sam was in the throes of a deep depression over her stupid pride and equally dumbass mind. She sat up and surveyed the beach and once again felt the twinge of pain that she always felt when she thought of him lately. The last time she had been to the beach with him, she had been knee deep in Brad and hadn't even spoken to Freddie much that day. She certainly hadn't noticed when he left, or that the next few weeks he had looked so tired and down.

Something hit the sand near her and snapped her out of the past. A Frisbee had come to rest near her towel. The young man who approached her wasn't bad looking, maybe a little chunky and he wasn't that tall, but he looked alright she thought.

"Sorry lady, kinda got away from me," the man spoke to her.

"Well no harm no foul," she smiled at him.

"Well let me make it up to you anyway," he smiled at her and offered his hand, "I'm Gordon, Gordon Summers, and I like to invite you to my buddies and my beach party tonight."

Carly came walking up at about that time, having just finished playing volley ball with a group of people from school, "you can bring your friend along if she wants to come," Gordon motioned at Carly.

"We would be delighted to come, what time and where?" Carly answered for them both. Sam shot her an icy stare that could kill lesser people.

"Here, around eight, and your names are?" Gordon smiled at them both.

"I'm Carly Shay and this is my friend Sam Puckett, and we will be here with bells on," Carly smiled at him.

"See you ladies tonight," Gordon said as he got up to trot back to his friends.

"Carly, what the hell?" Sam laid into her friend, "How could you say yes for me? I don't want to go to any damn party!"

"Oh, so you'd rather sit in the apartment and pine away for Fred, who's in ENGLAND by the way, than getting out and trying to have some fun," Carly shot back at her, "Why spend the whole summer in misery over something you can't fix till he's back here anyway? Sam, who knows, that guy might turn out to be "Mr. Right" and you're just going to let him slip away."

"No Carly, "Mr. Right" is six foot three inches tall weights one hundred and ninety pounds and has brown hair and eyes," Sam exclaimed, "I shared two kisses with him and can't think of anything better than spending the rest of my life with him if he would have someone like me for his wife. I want to have his babies, I want to cook for him, clean for him, I want to be whatever it takes to have him in my life. I've fucked around with all the dillholes that I need to, I know what I want and it kills me that I had it and didn't know it till it was too late. I had a stake in Freddie, why would I want a hamburger from some other guy."

Sam began to cry and Carly wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders, "Oh shit Sam, I didn't realize that you were that much in love with him. Honey, I know it hurts, but you know Fred, he's always been there for us, you, this will all work out when he gets back. I promise you, Fred still loves you and you're the only love in his life. Now please come to the party tonight, for me, you don't have to do anything, but just get out for a bit and have a few drinks, maybe you'll find someone who's in the same boat and the two of you can compare notes, what'd you say?"

"God Carly," Sam rolled her eyes, "ok, I guess I'll go."

.

.

Gordon made it back to his guys after his talk with the girls, "You were right Todd, they are the chicks from "iCarly" and they're both going to be here tonight. We are so gonna score with those chicks' dudes. And we're going to get it on tape!"

.

.

Sam and Carly arrived at a little after eight at the beach. There were over twenty guys on the beach and only four women, counting Sam and Carly. One of the other girls was a cheerleader named Dawn and some girl from the dance team named Carol made up the only women at the party. Every hair on the back of Sam's neck stood up. She knew this was bad news.

"Carly, this shit really looks bad, I think we need to get the hell out of here," Sam whispered to her friend.

Gordon stepped up to them and offered each one of them a beer, "Ladies so glad you could make it," he smiled at them, "We seem to be short a few women so far."

Sam felt a vibration in her pocket and reached for her phone, pushing the beer away that Gordon offered her.

She saw that it was from Freddie and felt a smile crack across her face, "Freddie, oh my god, how's England?"

The voice through the line sounded like an angel to her, "Great Sam, I'm having a ball. I've got so much to talk about when I get back. Listen, is everything alright, I just had this feeling in class and had to come and call?"

"Yeah Freddie, everything is fine, your head must be screwed up," Sam laughed, "But I'm glad you called, I really miss not having you here. You mean a lot to me, more than you know."

"Listen Sam, I have to go, class and all, but I miss you too, I've got a lot to fill you in on," he told her, "But you be careful, I'm worried about you and Carly both. Be safe. Bye."

Sam closed her phone and smiled at his name as it flashed off the screen. She was putting her phone back in the pocket of her shorts when she saw the Gordon and one of his "buds" slip something in the beers that they handed the girls.

"You motherfuckers," she screamed as she ran and slapped the beer out of Carly's hand, "just what the fuck did you put in those beers."

"Take it easy baby, we're just looking to have a good time and you know, those "Girls Gone Wild" videos make a pretty nice chunk of change," Gordon said as he grabbed Sam's arm.

He never saw the knee coming, and even if he had, he couldn't have stopped it. He felt his left nut give under the pressure of her knee. As he released her arm to grab his privates, she grabbed his wrist and snapped it back at an odd angle. Gordon screamed and rolled in the sand. The four women formed a square and began punching, clawing, or biting anything that came near them. This brought the beach patrol and put an end to the little "movie" plans for the night. The beach patrol informed them that this group of guys had pulled this scam up and down the coast all summer and that they were very lucky to have gotten away without a scratch.

"If you don't mind me asking?" one of the officers asked Sam, "What tipped you off?"

"I got a phone call from the man I love in England," Sam said, "He said he felt like something was wrong and wanted me to be careful. When I hung up I saw the nutless wonder and his friend putting something in the beer."

"It's a good thing your boyfriend called then," the officer said, "he saved all you women from a very bad night!"

"Yeah, he does that a lot, he always seems to be around to rescue women when they need it," Sam said more to herself than to anyone else, "even when they don't know they need saving."

When they got back to the apartment, Sam got a very shaken Carly to bed and then found herself in Freddie's room wrapped up in his comforter, just breathing in his scent and dreamed of the two of them making love while it rained outside.

.

.

I wanted to show that just because Sam was in love with Freddie and had even cried over him, that badass Sam was still around. I think at least one or two more chapters of the group apart are in order before they meet back up. I was asked in a pm about Noel and why I like her character so much, and besides the fact that I created her, I like that she sees Freddie outside the iCarly dynamic, and sees him as a person all by himself. Even in my own stuff, Freddie waits a lot for Sam and never really has a romance outside the "family" for the most part. I thought he deserved someone who saw him as a whole person and not just "one of the gang."

.

I hope you like, and as always, Please let me know!


	4. I belong by your side

I belong by your side

The boat rocked gently in the water and Fred and Noel were stretched out toward the bow and Marie and her date were sitting in the stern. There was just the faint trace of a chill in the air. The lake was peaceful and quiet. Noel's head was lying on Fred's chest and he was slowly rubbing her back in small lazy circles. His eyes were closed and a goofy grin of contentment was plastered all over his face. Noel let out a contented sigh and wrapped her arms around Fred. For the past month they had spent every waking minute they could together. While the sex was great, it was the small quiet moments that she loved the most. She loved his touch, the way he held the door open for her, the way he listened to her, the way he could make her laugh, but mostly it was the way he made her feel. She never once doubted how he felt about her.

Growing up as the daughter of a diplomat wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She had spent time in countries all around the world, but while that sounded cool, what it meant was new schools, new friends, and the feeling of always being an outsider. Her mother had died during a stay in Tel Aviv, Israel when a car bomb had gone off near the French embassy. Noel had been five years old when that happened, but she could still see it clearly in her mind. She loved her father, but he could be distant sometimes. It had left her with a need to be told that she was loved and Fred was more than willing to fill that prescription for her.

For his part, Fred was amazed that someone as beautiful as Noel would even talk to someone like him. She was so far out of his league, that he half expected her to wake up and walk away. He was surprised to find that in the few weeks they had been together that he couldn't picture his life without her. He wanted to wrap himself around her and spend the rest of his life lost in her eyes. He had always laughed at Carly and her stupid romance movies, but he guessed he was going to have to change his view of them. He was one hundred percent head over heels in love with this woman, and he had already made his mind up that he wasn't going to let her get away.

Later that evening the two couples met up with the others of their group at the "Wave" for drinks and dancing. As the group laughed and cut up, Fred and Noel stayed close to each other and whispered of love and things to come, completely oblivious to the crowd. Their hands were laced together when an old song began to play in the club and they made their way to the floor. Everyone in the place seemed to stop and stare as the couple took the floor alone and began to dance slowly to the soft and gentle love song that was playing.

She walks in I'm suddenly a hero  
>I'm taken in my hopes begin to rise<br>Look at me can't you tell I'd be so  
>Thrilled to see the message in your eyes<br>You make it seem I'm so close to my dream  
>And then suddenly it's all there<p>

Suddenly the wheels are in motion  
>And I I'm ready to sail any ocean<br>Suddenly I don't need the answers  
>Cos I I'm ready to take all my chances with you<p>

They moved with the grace of a couple who had been together for years. They folded in on each other and it looked as if they became one person to the crowd. They each made up what the other lacked, and the crowd was in awe.

How can I feel you're all that matters  
>I'd rely on anything you say<br>I'll take care that no illusions shatter  
>If you dare to say what you should say<br>You make it seem I'm so close to my dream  
>And then suddenly it's all there<p>

Suddenly the wheels are in motion  
>And I I'm ready to sail any ocean<br>Suddenly I don't need the answers  
>Cos I I'm ready to take all my chances with you<p>

Noel stared into Fred's dark brown eyes and smiled at him. She was never as sure of anything in her life as she was that Fred was the dream she had looked for since she was a little girl. She knew that this man was what she wanted more than anything else in life.

Fred stared into her blue eyes and saw a fire in them that he wanted to warm himself by for the rest of his life. He felt reborn in her love, like he had been missing in his own skin, but had found himself again.

As they slowly danced, completely unaware that the whole club was watching them, the leaned in to each other and their lips touched.

Why do I feel so alive when you're near  
>There's no way any hurt can get thru'<br>Longing to spend every moment of the day with you

Suddenly the wheels are in motion  
>And I I'm ready to sail any ocean<br>Suddenly I don't need the answers  
>Cos I I'm ready to take all my chances with you<p>

The song ended, but the two of them continued to dance anyway. Another song started to play, some tech-noir club cut shit, but they slow danced on as they kissed.

As they walked back to the flat that they shared together now, they held hands and Noel laid her head on Fred's shoulder. There was a slight hint of a cold breeze blowing and they stood close to each other.

"Thank you," Fred said quietly to her as they walked.

"For what mon amour?" she asked him.

"For this, all of this," he told her, "I have been very down for a very long time and wasn't sure if I could ever get back on my feet. You have saved me from the darkness. I thought I was going to be swallowed up by it, but you shined your light on me and helped me find my way back. I had given up hope of ever feeling this way, but you filled me with your love and no matter what I do, I can't repay you for that."

Noel's eyes filled with tears and they both stopped walking. She ran her hand up to his face and rubbed his cheek. She looked into his eyes and pulled him down into a deep slow kiss. She felt his arms wrap around her and pull her closer to him.

After they had made love, they laid in each other's arms, Noel's head resting on Fred's soft chest hair with her ear over his heart, while Fred rubbed lazy circles around her shoulders. This was where the magic really happened, these quiet moments when they just did nothing. This is where the real they knew that it was more than just a crush or a normal summer romance.

"Noel," Fred said, "I can't go back. I don't want to leave you or this place. I'm going to see if I can get my credits transferred to a college here and stay. I need you, I need you to be a part of my life, and I'll never be whole without you with me."

"Fred mon amour," Noel said, still lying on his chest, "You can't stay here and you have to go back to Washington State. It would be silly for you to stay here while I was going to Washington University, the commutes would kill you and me both."

Fred sat up and placed his back on the head board, "You're going where?"

"I'm transferring to Washington University mon amour," Noel said with a smile as she sat up next to him, "I know I may have over stepped my bounds, but I couldn't stand the thought of not being with you. I belong by your side; I hope you're not upset with me."

Fred said nothing, but he bent down and began to kiss her softly. She returned it and they settled into a long and sensual kiss. When it was over, he brought his hand to her face and smiled at her, "My God, I love you so much Noel," he then slid back down into the bed and pulled her along with him.

"J'ai besoin de toi Mon amour," Noel whispered to him, "Faire de nouveau sweet love me."

"Toujours, je t'aimerai toujours," Fred said to her as he began to kiss her neck and moved under the covers.

"Mmmm," Noel purred, "Kitty aime beaucoup."

.

They awoke the next morning and went to the country for the day. They rented a tandem bicycle and just rode through the countryside at a nice leisurely pace. They had no plans, no time limits, just the chill in the air and a picnic basket.

They found a field near an old farmhouse and spread their blanket out and ate lunch. They talked about their childhoods and about the things they liked and disliked. He told her about iCarly and his two best friends and how, even after everything that had happened, that he loved them. She told him about the first crush she ever had, Brad Pitt, and how he broke her heart when he married that girl from "Friends".

They laid down on the blanket after lunch and just cuddled while looking at the clouds. As they both drifted off into their own thoughts, Noel noticed that Fred was smiling like the preverbal cat that ate the canary. She looked at him and rose up on her elbows, "And what, may I ask, are you smiling about?"

"Just thinking," he looked in her eyes, "do you know what would make this day perfect?"

"Yes," she grinned at him, "but we have far too many clothes on for that."

"Well yeah," he grinned back at her, "but I was thinking more along the lines of something I have in my pocket."

"Once again," she looked at him seductively, "I state, far too many clothes on for that."

"Oh you're a bad girl," he smirked at her, "Just reach in my right front pocket please."

Noel coyly reached into his pocket and felt her fingers hit a small velvet box. She gripped it and removed it from his pocket. She sat up quickly and looked at the box and then to Fred. Her face went red and she began to shake.

"Oh mon Dieu Fred," she exclaimed, "Is this what I think it is?"

"I don't know," he smiled at her, "I guess you better look."

She pulled the box open and saw a ring with a small diamond chip in it. Tears began to roll down her face as she looked at it and then looked at him.

"Let's just call it a promise of an engagement ring," he smiled at her, "I couldn't afford much right now. So would you do me the honor of being my fiancé till we graduate and then marry me?"

Noel slid the ring on her finger and shook her head yes. He pulled her down to the blanket and began to kiss her deeply. They made love in the field as a soft drizzle of rain began to fall.

.

.

Sam spent a lot of time at the beach the rest of the summer. She lost count of the number of frat boys that had hit on her. She had gotten a great tan and had formulated her plan for how she was going to show Freddie that she loved him and wanted to be with him only. He would be coming home in a week and he had said he had big news for everyone.

She had contacted all his friends on campus (she had no idea he had so many) and had set up a welcome party. She was getting Carly's help gathering all the party food, which was a precaution to keep Sam from overloading on junk food.

They had stopped at the liquor store to stock up, when the clerk began flirting with Sam. He was maybe six feet tall, brown hair and eyes and his name was Roger. Sam tried to be polite to the boy, but he wouldn't quit. She finally had to get rude with him, "Look Roger, unless you can pound a nine inch nail through a piece of wood with your dick, you're not going to get anywhere with me, GOT IT?"

Roger walked away a little smaller than when he had walked up. Carly slid in beside Sam and just looked at her friend and asked her, "What the hell did you do that for, he was cute?"

"No Carly, he was a pale copy of Freddie at best," Sam told her as she shook her head, "I've chased the copies for the better part of my dating life, when the real thing was right there staring me in the face. I want Freddie and momma gets what momma wants."

The week crept by for Sam. Everyday seemed to just drag on and on. The party was set and she was just waiting for Freddie to call and give her a time to pick him up at the airport.

Thursday evening at about seven o'clock local time he finally called her. She had been waiting for the call all day, and the sound of his voice made her face light up.

"Freddie, oh man it's good to hear your voice," she told him, "It's been so lifeless here without your nubness here to keep me company."

"Well relax Princess Puckett, I'll be home tomorrow at five-thirty, and I got big news for everyone," Fred laughed and told her, "You of all people will never believe it."

"Well what is it ya big nerd?" Sam giggled at him; she was amazed at her self for the girly act, but couldn't help it.

"Nope, all I'm going to tell you right now is that it's something you said would never happen to me," she could actually hear the smile through the connection.

"Gee, that narrows it down to about a million things," she found herself smiling, "Come on. Tell mamma your secret Freddieweddy."

"You'll just have to wait and see," he told her, "I have to go but, I have really missed you Sam. And I missed Carly too, but I miss our chats. You really have become my best friend Sam and I'm sorry I acted like an asshole before I left. I was just in a very bad place and I hope you'll forgive me for the way I acted toward you. I hope you and Carly both can forgive me for that."

"Please Freddie," Sam said in a much lower tone, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I, well we, were the ones with our heads so far up our asses that we couldn't see that you needed us. I'm glad to know you forgive us, because as long as I live I'll never be able to forgive myself for letting you down when you needed me. I've done a lot of thinking over the summer and when you get back, things are going to change, I promise."

"You're a great friend Sam," he told her, "You always were and you always will be. You take care and we'll see you tomorrow at five-thirty, bye."

"Bye Freddie," Sam told him and closed her phone.

She sat in the chair for a few minutes looking at his name on her phone readout and smiled. He didn't sound mad anymore, in fact he sounded happier than she had heard him sound in a long time. He had forgiven her self-centeredness, and had even said he missed her. He called her his best friend, hell he even kind of flirted with her, he had called her Princess Puckett.

Sam couldn't suppress the grin that split her lips. She wanted to scream and shout, but decided that making the neighbors mad the evening before you throw a party probably wasn't a great idea. She strolled into Freddie's room and stretched out across his bed. She fell asleep to visions of the two of them kissing when they saw each other tomorrow, and of him making love to her on the beach. She belonged by his side, she knew it.

The flight landed at five-twenty-two and taxied to the ramp. Sam had arrived two hours early; to be sure and not miss his arrival. The butterflies in her stomach were working overtime at the moment. The door opened and the people began to stream off. She stood on her tip-toes and began to search for him. Suddenly she saw him, he looked taller and he had a grin on his face that could light a city for a month. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt the butterflies really start to work.

Just as she was about to yell his name, a tall beautiful blonde woman came up beside him and he placed his arm around her waist and they kissed.

The butterflies stopped flying, because the bottom of her stomach fell out and she thought she could actually hear her heart stop beating!

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I know I suck for stopping here, but this is where the break had to come. This story has taken on a life of its own. It started as one thing but as I went along, it started telling me what to write. I'm just observing the story and seeing where it's going. There are many ways for it to go, but only one that it will take. I've gotten some very nice pm's about this one and I want to thank you all for taking the time to read and to review my work. It means a lot to me, much more than you'll ever know.

As always, please let me know what you think!

P.S.

Feel free to let me know what you think should happen. I can't change it, but I would like to know.


	5. Through Different Eyes

Through Different Eyes

A.N. - I received many comments about the last chapter, one that brought me to task for having this labeled as humor. This was indeed started as a "Worm that turns" kind of story, but it has morphed into something else. There will be humor, but in the interest of fair labeling I have changed this to a drama. As to the girls seeming lack of love for Fred or their indifference to him, at one time or another everyone does that to a friend, takes them for granted. Fred and Sam are still best friends; it's just been more of a one-way street lately. I hope this chapter shows that they still have feelings for each other, but life takes turns, ones that not everyone sees.

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Sam couldn't believe what she saw. Freddie and that beautiful woman had kissed. Not just a peck on the cheek or on the lips, but an honest to God "Do you still have your tonsils" kind of kiss. She wanted to run and was just about to when they broke apart and he locked eyes with her, "Sam, Princess Puckett, there you are, damn it's good to see you again," he yelled as he ran to her, the woman following after him.

Sam plastered a smile on her face and ran to meet Freddie. He wrapped her up in a huge bear hug that pulled her off her feet. Sam breathed in his scent and despite everything, felt herself melt into his arms. She pulled her head back and stared into his brown eyes and found herself leaning in for a kiss. Freddie kissed her very chastely on the lips and put her down. Sam kept the pucker on her lips for several seconds after being on the ground. She unpuckered her lips and did her best to fight back the blush that was trying to form on her face.

"Sam, I'd like to introduce you to Noel Channel, Noel, this is the one and only Sam Puckett, "he smiled as he touched both of their arms.

"Nice to meet you," Sam lied to Noel as she stuck out her hand to shake Noel's. Noel bypassed Sam hand and wrapped her in a big bear hug. Sam felt very unconformable in the embrace, but she decided maybe she should hug back.

"It's so nice to meet you," Noel said, "Fred has told me so much about you. You're even more beautiful than he said you were."

Sam was surprised to hear that Freddie had talked about her and in such glowing terms. She couldn't suppress the slight smile that crept from her lips.

"The king of nerds said that about me?" she looked at Freddie and raised her eyebrows, "You must be getting soft in your old age. So Noel, how long are you going to stay with us here?"

"That's the surprise Sam, she has transferred here and we are engaged," Fred beamed at her.

Sam turned white and felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Her legs felt weak and she was pretty sure that she was going to hurl her lunch all over the concourse.

'What the hell was this all about? "She thought to herself, 'He goes away for three months and comes back with a fiancé and acts like it's no big deal? Who does that?'

"Oh really, umm… wow, that was quick, I mean… um… you know … like when's the big day?" she stammered out finally.

"Right after we graduate," Fred smiled as he placed his arm around Noel's waist and planted another kiss on her lips.

After about a minute, Sam cleared her throat once and then said with inpatients, "Come Freddie, you guys get a fucking room or something will ya? Stop that shit and let's get back to the apartment, we got a little party going in your honor."

They walked to the baggage claims area and retrieved their bags and headed for the parking lot. Sam spent the entire time trying to find something wrong with Noel. Just one thing, a mole with a hair in it, a zit on her nose, one boob bigger than the other, a lazy eye, or hell even a booger hanging out of her nose would be nice. She needed something to be wrong so she could hate this chick. So far though she seemed really kind and sweet and that was pissing her off. It's really hard to kill someone if you couldn't find something to hate about them. Maybe she would turn out to be a real bitch and then that would make it make it easier to beat her ass back to Europe.

During the thoughts of murder, Sam carried on small talk with both of them. Sam couldn't help but notice how noel looked at Freddie and the way she glowed when he touched her. She smiled at him and Sam could see the love in her eyes, almost feel the current that passed between them. The thing that she noticed more than anything was Freddie. He had taken on a glow of his own. Sam had never seen him look quite so happy or quite so good. He opened the door for Noel and the girl just beamed at him. Sam wanted to barf, just how girly was this chick? Still she found herself wishing that he was opening the door just for her. Of course he had done that may times for her and she had always repaid the kindness with a shot to the ribs or a stomp of the foot. They piled into Sam's jeep and headed back to the apartment and the party.

"So, um… what brought you two together?" Sam asked Noel, who had gotten in the front seat for some reason.

"Well I asked him to hold my nuts, and he told me he usually tried not to hold strangers nut," Noel told Sam with a huge grin on her face.

Despite herself Sam laughed so hard that she snorted, which brought huge laugher from the back seat. Noel rolled her eyes at Sam and giggled as she went on, "So I told him to give me mine back and I would hold his, because I didn't mind holding handsome strangers nuts."

Sam began to laugh so hard that she thought she would have to pull over, but she managed to keep the jeep between the lines on the road.

"Damn Freddie, I can't believe you had the "balls" to say that to a woman," Sam managed to get out between laughs, "Get it, BALLS?"

"Ha, ha Sam I get it," Fred tried not to laugh, but didn't succeed.

Noel was laughing so hard that she couldn't stop, "Oh my God, Je vais pisser sur moi-même."

Fred began to cough from the laughter and Sam asked, "What did she say?"

"She said she's going to piss on herself," Fred translated for Sam.

This news forced Sam to pull over, as she was now unable to see the road for the tears that were running down her face. Noel hopped out and ran to the rest area bathroom, sending Fred into spasms of laughter that caused him to start to choke.

After five minutes, the trio was able to get on the road again. Sam was finding it hard to hate this woman and that was pissing her off. The woman was obviously in love with Freddie and he was just as obviously in love with her, and Sam was at a loss as to what the hell was going on. She should be pulling this bitches hair out, not laughing with her. Sam was so confused about just what was going on in her world right now.

They got to the apartment at ten after six and the large group welcomed Fred back to Seattle in style. Carly and a few of the guest had kept everyone from drinking till the trio had arrived, but now that they were there, the drinking began in earnest. Carly found herself in as much shock as Sam over Noel, but she only felt bad because she knew that Sam had to be crushed by the news.

"Are you ok Sam?" Carly pulled her friend into a big hug.

"Sure, I mean the man that I'm hopelessly in love with is engaged to another woman, who by the way is so nice that I can't even hate her, and you want to know if I'm alright?" Sam just leaned her head on Carly's shoulder and watched as Freddie and Noel danced to "Marry Me" by Train, "Oh God Carly, look at them have you ever seen two people more in love with each other?"

"Once, back in High School, I saw two people who looked at each other like that," Carly smiled sadly at her best friend, "but neither of them did anything about it and they kind of just drifted away from each other."

"I know," Sam looked at the couple as they touched foreheads and smiled at each other, "I kept thinking in the back of my head that he would always be there, you know, when I finally was ready to give up my so called "freedom" and notice him. It never dawned on me that he might get tired of waiting for me and find someone. It never occurred to me that other women would see that he was hot and a great catch. I ask you, how long have I been sticking my head in the sand and pretending that other women would notice what a hottie Freddie is?"

"Why don't you tell him how you feel Sam?" Carly patted her on the back, "Let him know how you feel."

"Look at him Carly, how can I tell him that I love him? At this point the only woman he can see is the French croissant he's holding, I got no chance."

"Well if you don't say something, you'll never have any chance at all," Carly got up and hugged Sam's shoulders as she walked toward the bar.

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The party was going at full blast by eleven-thirty, Fred had just spent six minutes waiting for a turn at the bathroom and came out to see Noel and Carly talking by the food table. He looked around and saw Sam sitting in the coroner of the room drinking a beer. He walked up to her and began to rub her shoulders as he sat down beside her.

"What's the word princess?" he smiled at her.

"The word is I need another beer," she smiled at him and started to get up.

"Relax princess, I'll get you one," he walked to the bar and grabbed two beers and slipped by Noel and planted a small kiss on the back of her neck as he walked back to Sam. Sam noticed the little shiver that Noel felt as Freddie kissed her neck and she wanted to slap them both. Truth be told, she wanted it to be her that got that kiss.

"One beer as promised," he handed her the bottle and sat down beside her, "So what 'ca doing sitting here drinking by yourself for? There must be thirty guys here that would love to dance with a hot momma like you."

"Please nub, most of these guys want to find someone who'll rub their dicks for them and maybe give them a blow job," Sam laughed as Freddie almost spit out his beer, "

"Don't mince word princess, tell me how you really feel?" Fred smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder, "I thought you were still looking for Mr. Right?"

"I am, just not for Mr. Right now, which most of these guys are," Sam grinned at Freddie and felt herself fall into the easy rhythm of talking to him, "I'm kinda tired of the booty calls and next day "what the fuck did I do" blues. I think after Will, I deserve something better than just settling, I want the works for once."

"That a girl," Fred rubbed her shoulder and smiled at her, "I told you all along that you deserved the best, glad to hear you finally agree with me. Sam you're one of the most amazing women I have ever known and you need to stop hanging around all these losers who don't know what a great catch you are. Hell, any man would have to look awful hard to find someone as great and sexy as you."

"Shit Freddie, you're going to have to be my new manager and get me dates from now on," Sam laughed at him and found herself getting lost in the light of his eyes for a second, "So Noel, she's the one huh?"

"Yep," his smile almost blinded her, "I wasn't even looking for it, and I just kinda fell into in. I was in such a dark funk after mom that I didn't see much that was good. I don't know, she was this light at the end of this long dark tunnel and she lifted me up. It took me three weeks to even notice that she was flirting with me."

"Three weeks?" Sam looked at him like he was a moron, "You mean to tell me that she had to spend three weeks just to get you to see she was into you? God Freddie, I know you're a nub, but I didn't know you were stupid. The way that girl looks at you, you really didn't notice that she liked you?"

"Look at it from my point of view Sam," Fred turned to her and began to tick points off on his hand, "One, other than about six times, I've never had a real date in my life, two, I never had any woman really express interest in me, not counting Sandra and Cindy, three, why would a great looking woman like that even give me the time of day, so no I didn't ever think she would be interested in me romantically, why should I?"

"Damn Freddie, have all of us women warped you so bad that you can't see what a hot piece of ass you really are?" Sam just stared at him in disbelief, "Freddie when we use to go to the beach, didn't you ever wonder why half the girls always ended up around where you were? I seem to recall that Shanna, I think was her name, Shanna even went so far as to breaking in to the apartment and lying nude on your bed waiting for you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't happen to very many guys?"

"Yeah, but she was a slut and that doesn't count," he smiled at her and looked down.

"Sure she was a slut and a loon, but she still wanted the "Benson bang" so it does too count," Sam grinned at her on little word play.

"Well most of the women always thought I was with the two of you and never even acted like they wanted anything to do with me," Fred pointed out to her, "between that and the fucking "friend zone" which I seemed to live in, no I never thought anyone wanted me."

"Is she good to you?" Sam asked him in a whispered tone.

"Yeah, she really is," Fred smiled and blushed at the same time, "I've never met anyone like her. It's like where I stop she starts, and I don't know, we just click, I've never felt so alive before in my life. She fills to empty spot in my soul. I know it's corny and "nerd like", but I feel better about myself when I'm with her and I can see that my life isn't so empty anymore. Ok, now let me have it, tell me what a "girl" I'm being."

Sam looked at him with just the slightest hint of a tear in her eyes, "No Freddie, it's not "girly" at all, in fact it's really quite beautiful. Everyone should have that in their lives," she looked down and whispered, "That's what I really want more than anything, but I seem to have lost sight of that at some point."

"It's still out there princess," Fred got up and kissed her forehead, "just keep looking. I better go rescue Noel from the jaws of a Carly "talk"."

As he walked off, Sam looked up at his retreating back and felt a tear run down her face, "No Freddie, I just had it and let it go."

.

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Sam did the only thing that she could do, she got "shitfaced" and then she got wild. She wasn't aware of just how flirtatious she was really being. The guy she took up with was named Greg and he was six foot tall and had brown hair and eyes, he fit the type of Freddie, but only in looks. Greg intended to get lucky before the dawns early light and Sam was going to be the girl. He started hitting on her after about her third shot of tequila, and they had ended up dancing something that looked more like dry humping than anything else. Fred and Noel kept as close an eye on the couple as they could, but sometime around one-thirty in the morning Greg managed to get Sam into one of the bedrooms. He began to kiss her and let his hands roam her body.

"Oh God yes Freddie," Sam moaned as Greg kissed her throat and moved his hands to her breast.

"Its Greg baby, my name is Greg," he told her as his hands removed her shirt and he pawed her breast again.

Sam managed to clear her head and eyes enough to see that this wasn't Freddie and she slapped Greg, "Hey, back off asshole, this isn't gonna happen!"

Greg slapped her back, "You fucking tease!"

"LET GO OF ME CHEESEDICK!" Sam shouted at him.

The door of the room flew open and Fred was on Greg in two steps. He slipped his arm around Greg's neck and jerked him off his feet as Noel entered the room and collected Sam and started to lead her out. Greg kicked out and caught Noel in the leg and knocked her down.

"You just fucked up big time noddledick," Fred announced to Greg, as he spun him around had punched him in the face. Greg's nose exploded in a mist of blood and he went stumbling back.

Noel stood up and looked at Fred and smiled, "I'm ok mon amour, KICK HIS ASS!"

Fred smiled and grabbed Greg by his shirt and began to literally punch him out of the room. The partiers cleared a path as they moved through the room. When they made it to the front door Fred spun him around and kicked him in the ass, so that he fell into the yard, "I see you around my friend or my fiancé ever again, and I'll kill you!"

Fred walked back in to the cheers of the crowd and went to see if Noel and Sam were alright. Sam sat on the edge of her bed and Noel sat beside her rubbing her back and helping her into a tee-shirt.

Fred bent down and looked at Noel, "Vous êtes sur ok mon amour?" he asked as he pulled her into a deep kiss.

When they broke, she smiled at him and said, "Je suis beaucoup mieux maintenant mon amour. Vous êtes sexy quand vous êtes étant difficile."

"I'll have to make a note of that and try to kick someone's ass at least once a week just for you," he grinned at her and winked, "Sam, you ok princess?"

"I'm just fine, why do they always go for the slap. Do they teach you guys at a young age how to hurt a woman in the face or what?" Sam asked him.

"I don't know, I missed that class I guess," he smiled at her and ran his hand over her cheek.

"Noel, you got yourself the last of the honest to God gentleman left on the planet. I may be drunk and about to pass out, but if you ever hurt him," she closed her thumb and index finger till on light shone through them, "even this much, I'll hunt you down and do nasty things to your corpse, got me!"

"Yes I do Sam," Noel smiled at her and at Fred, "You have my word, I'll never hurt this man. I love him with all my heart."

Sam fell back on the bed and began to make snoring noises. Fred lifted her up and Noel turned down the sheets and Fred laid her down and covered her up. Neither of them heard her say in a whisper as they left, "So do I."

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Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been back in the hospital the last few days and haven't been able to right. I'm doing better now though, but this summer sucks for me! LOL! Anyway I hope you like and as always, let me know what you think! PLEASE!


	6. Unlikely Friends

Unlikely Friends

Sam was quite sure that her head was going to explode at any minute. 'Must always remember, tequila and beer aren't your friends,' Sam thought to herself. She felt like someone had begun road construction in the middle of her head. The man with the jackhammer had started work and was very busy indeed. She opened her eyes slowly and noticed that some loving person had placed extra sheets up over the windows to block out the sun. That person was Sam's new hero for the day. She crawled out of the bed and tried to pull herself up on her feet. When she made it all the way up she found that she was lightheaded and thought she just might spew allover the bed sheet. She steadied herself and then caught a whiff of something that made her churning stomach still for a moment. BACON! She also detected other delectable odors coming from the kitchen and forced herself toward the door. She opened the door and like a vampire found herself retreating from the sun with a scream and an arm over her eyes. She stumbled into her room and grabbed her sunglasses off her dresser and valiantly tried the door again.

"Well good morning princess, I see you're still alive, almost," Fred said in a very hushed tone.

"Please keep it down," Sam grimaced, "You should know better than to speak so loud in the presence of the dead. Who do I have to thank for the sheets over the windows?"

"I thought I'd save you the pain of the early morning sun," Noel smiled as she stuck her head out from the kitchen, and looked at Sam with a knowing glance.

"You're my new hero for the day, maybe for life," Sam tried to smile at her, but found it hurt far too much to try, and gave it up, "What is that wonderful smell coming out of the kitchen?"

"Fred and I are making everyone breakfast," Noel grinned at her as the couple stopped and kissed each other, far too deeply for Sam's taste.

Sam only then noticed that Noel only had one of Freddie's tee-shirts on, one that hung down past her knees, and looked for all the world not to be wearing a bra. Sam figured that the woman must be a good five feet five or better and from the look of the bounce, must be a D-cup at least. 'Ok,' Sam thought, 'she's got a few inches and one cup size on me, but other than that, I could still stand a chance, maybe.'

Fred brought the plates and set them around the table and placed silverware at each plate. Noel came out of the kitchen with a plate of eggs, bacon, and ham. She also had a plate with pancakes and biscuits on it. Fred returned to the kitchen and came out with orange juice and a container full of some kind of red juice. Noel returned to the kitchen one last time and came out with syrup and jams.

"Wow," Sam said as she looked over the spread, "Looks like you two have been busy this morning."

Noel blushed and Freddie just grinned at her and lifted his right eyebrow. The couple then laughed and Freddie sat down and pulled Noel into his lap. The two kissed again and then Noel got up and poured some of the red juice in a glass and set it in front of Sam.

"Drink this and I guarantee your hangover will go away," Noel smiled at her and made the motion of drinking at her.

Sam looked at the glass and glanced at Noel and Freddie, she surged her shoulders and chugged the drink down. To her surprise, the drink was quite good and after a few seconds the pain in her head and stomach stopped altogether.

"Holy shit," Sam laughed, "That stuff is great. What the hell is in it?"

Noel smiled at her and then laughed, "I'll give you the recipe. My family has sworn by it for over a century."

"You never offered me the recipe Mon amour," Fred said to her.

"You have me Mon amour, you don't need it," she blew a kiss to him.

Carly shuffled into the room in her shorts and tank-top with fuzzy pink house shoes on, "Morning all," she yawned and looked at the table, "Wow, who do we owe this breakfast too?"

"Noel and the nub," Sam joked to her friends.

They all laughed and Fred even added, "Sounds like the name of a sitcom, "Noel and the Nub" Thursdays at eight on CBS!"

"I get half the royalties for coming up with the name," Sam added with a laugh.

The group settled down and began to eat. Fred had heard it said that the true test of a meal and how good it was by the amount of talking that went on during the eating of the meal. The better the meal, the less talking that went on, which meant that this meal must have been gourmet quality, because no one spoke. As the last of the breakfast was eaten Fred decided it was time to broach the subject of the living arrangements.

"Look ladies," he began, "I've been thinking about the living arrangements and I don't want to leave you guys in a pinch, I mean I'll pay rent till you can find a new roommate, but I think Noel and I will start looking for a place together. I mean I don't want to make you guys uncomfortable and I'm thinking that the two of us here would make it weird for you two, so maybe this would be best."

Sam and Carly looked at each other in a state of shock. Sam felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs.

"You… you guys are going to move out of here?" Sam said crest fallen, almost in a whisper, "I mean I thought, we thought, that you two would just stay here with us. I, um, we'll give you guys some privacy when you guy guys need some, but I, um… we don't see any need for you two to leave. Besides with school starting in a few days, you know it'll be hard to find a place right now, so why not just stay here for now?"

"Well that's nice of you to offer, but you know at some point we're going to have to find a place for ourselves anyway," Fred explained, "We're getting married in two years anyway, and it's not like we can live with you two after that anyway."

"Well sure," Carly stared at Sam and saw the hurt in her eyes and got what Sam wanted, "But right now you two aren't going to find any really great places, so why rush? Live here for the year and during the summer, when the pickings are much better, then you two can take your time and find a great place together, what do you say?"

Fred looked at Noel and the two of them seemed to carry on some silent conversation between them and Fred turned back to Carly and Sam, "Are you guys sure that this is ok with you? I don't want to get into TMI or anything, but you do realize we are… um… shall we say… um… active, if you know what I mean?"

"Look," Sam suppressed a small grin, despite not wanting to think about the couple getting busy, "just keep the whips and chains in your room, the door closed, and don't be getting it on in the kitchen," she notice the two of them look at each other and blush, "anymore, and I think we can handle it."

"Ok, I guess we'll try it and see how it goes," Fred laughed and then he and Noel hugged.

The group all stood and began to clear the table. Noel turned to the women, "Fred wants to take me to the beach, would you guys like to join us?"

"Sure, that sounds like fun," Sam smiled, "we'll get dressed and meet you guys here in fifteen minutes."

"Sam, could you give me a hand in my room for just a minute?" Carly shot her friend a look and nodded her head toward her room.

"Uh… sure Carls," Sam looked puzzled at her, but began to follow her friend into her room.

After the two women got in Carly's room, Carly turned and shut the door and looked at her friend, "Sam we need to talk and I need you to just listen to me for a minute, Ok?"

"Sure Carls, whatever bastes your ham," Sam replied.

"Are you sure you want this, are you really sure you know what you're doing having them live here with us?" Carly placed a hand on her friends shoulder, "Sam, I see this ending one of several ways, and in none of them do I see this ending with you getting anything but your heart broken honey. Sam they are in love and Fred even said that at the table, honey THEY ARE GOING TO GET M*A*R*R*I*E*D," Carly spelled out the word married for added emphasis, "I just want you to see the big picture Sam, you're just opening yourself up to a world of pain. I'm usually the one to point out the silver lining in the storm clouds, but there isn't any here Sam, just heartache and pain like you've never felt before and I don't want you to go through that."

"Carly, I know and I thank you for going along with me on them staying here for now," Sam looked at her and Carly thought that she looked a little moist in the eyes, "I know this is crazy and stupid but I just can't let him go right now. I know they're in love and that I've got no chance, but Carly, Freddie's been a huge part of my life… our lives, I still need him in my life even if it hurts, I just can't lose him altogether, it would be like cutting off my arm or my leg. I'll just take whatever I can get for now. God, I sound like a nut don't I?"

"No Sam, you don't sound like a nut," Carly stroked her hair, "you sound like a woman in love who's about to get really hurt. I don't think you would do this but I have to ask, you're not going to do something silly like trying to break them up are you? Because that won't work and you really would lose him forever if you tried."

"Oh God, no Carly I could never do that to him," Sam looked shocked at the thought, "I don't ever want to see him hurt like that. I just can't move on yet, I guess I need to see that this is what's best for him and then maybe I can let go. It's kinda like the song says, What really hurts the most is that I was so close to what I had been looking for all my life, but I let it get away from me. Ok enough self pity, let's get dressed and head to the beach.

Carly smiled and patted her friends head, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Sam bowed her head and said in a low tone, "Thanks Carls, for watching out for me, you're a great friend."

"Being your friend Sam, it's now just a job, it's an adventure," Carly smiled at her friend and went to get her bathing suit.

Ten minutes later the group reassembled in the living room. Fred was impressed at the beauty of the women in his life. Carly looked like a dream in a green two-piece, Sam was in the blue two-piece that he always thought made her look hot, and the amour de sa vie. Noel had a purple bikini on that left him wanting to stay at the apartment alone with her. All three women wore pull-over white sun dresses, and he wore a pair of red trunks and a white tee-shirt with no sleeves. Some people call the shirt a "wife-beater" shirt, but Fred found the name and the image that it brought to mind repugnant and refused to call it that.

For their part, the three women found the sight of Fred very appealing. He was very fit and well toned. Try as they might, none of them could find an ounce of fat on the man. The fact that he skipped shaving made him look all the more rugged and handsome, especially to Noel and Sam.

They piled in Sam's jeep and headed to the beach. They sang to the radio, laughed at jokes and the cars around them, and in general had a blast. Carly began to describe some of the more lame choices in her love life, "Arron was the worst of the lot in my eyes, the boy just had nothing to work with, if you know what I mean?" she told Noel.

"**Arron a souffert du manque d'un grand Dick, et n'importe ce qu'elle dit, Carly aime un grand Dick**," Fred laughed as he told Noel in French.

"What did he say?" Carly asked as Noel began to laugh uncontrollable at the statement.

"Look it up Carly," Fred told her as he tried to stop laughing.

"Are we going to have to bone up on French now Fredweird?" Sam grinned in the rearview mirror.

"No, I bone the French enough for this group," he wiggled his eyebrows at Noel and she playfully slapped at his chest.

"Freddie gets frisky," Carly laughed at the couple as she turned to see them kiss. Sam couldn't keep from looking at them in the rearview mirror and feeling a slight pull at her heart strings, but she also found herself liking the way the four of them were having fun and getting along.

"If he keeps that up, we won't have to worry about noises from the bedroom, he'll be putting the bone to the couch," Sam joked and brought all of them to tears with the comment.

The beach was over half full, this being one of the last weekends before the start of classes. Fred was the envy of every man on the beach. Three gorgeous women laughing and obviously having a great time with him and then when the sun dresses came off the men began to hate him because he had the best looking women on the beach with him and they didn't seem to notice anyone but him.

The small group hit the water and began to swim and have a splash fight. Two guys tried to join in with them, only to be pummeled by Sam and Carly till they left in shame. After they left the water they set up on a small strip of beach and laid their blankets out and began to sunbathe. Sam found that the shirtless Freddie kept her dazed most of the day. The sight of his hairy, toned chest made her melt inside and caused her to have more than a few impure thoughts. What she didn't know was that others on the beach were doing the same thing. After lying out for awhile, Carly and Fred left to get the group smoothies, leaving Sam and Noel alone on the beach.

"Sam, I have to tell you I'm so glad that we have gotten along so well," Noel smiled and spoke, "I so worried about meeting you."

"Why?" Sam laughed, "Did Freddie tell you that I'd beat the shit out of you or something?"

"No, nothing like that, It's just that he talked about you all the time and he loves you so much and thinks so highly of you, well, I thought you might not like me or you might think I wasn't good enough for him. I was afraid if you didn't like me that he would break up with me."

"You had to know he wasn't like that," Sam looked at her stunned.

"I know, but he really cares for you and I wanted you to like me so much, I'm just glad that you're so easy to get along with, I kind of feel like we could become great friends," Noel told her.

About that time a Frisbee landed between the two women and a frat boy came up to them, "Excuse me pretty ladies, I hope my Frisbee didn't hit you?" he smiled at them, "Names Stan, Stan Jones, and I do believe you girls are about the finest looking women on the beach, and I want to personal invite you two babes too the most happening party this side of the state. I'll be more than happy to show you both a GOOD TIME!"

"Dude, you couldn't pleasure yourself with both hands and a flashlight, much less do anything for us but give us a good laugh," Sam smirked at the boy.

"What's the matter, you girl's dykes or something?" Stan asked with a leer.

Sam saw something snap in Noel's eyes and then a gleam appear. She wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she wouldn't miss it for the world.

"Wow, does it really show that much?" Noel asked.

"Does what show?" Stan looked puzzled.

"That my friend and I are lesbians; I guess I just didn't know we were that obvious," Noel smiled at Sam and winked, "But I think the party sounds like fun baby, we should go. You see Stan one of my biggest fantasies is for the two of us to do it in front of a crowd."

Stan felt his mouth go dry and the beginnings of an erection in his trunks.

Noel turned to Sam and said, "See Stan I want to kiss her slowly and trail kisses down her neck," Noel began to rub her own stomach, "and kiss down into her cleavage and then lick my way down to her bellybutton," both women looked at Stan and the tent pole he now sported and Noel slid down a little on her blanket, "and then run my tongue around in it and then my favorite thing in the world to do is?" Noel kicked out hard and hit the tip of the tent pole as straight on and sent Stan crumpling to the sand, "is kick the shit out of dumbasses who call me and my friend a dyke just because we don't want a limp dick loser to touch us. That's what I love you perverted son of a bitch!"

Sam burst out laughing and let out her war whoop. She gave Noel a high five and then noticed Carly and Freddie walking up.

"He called you a dyke didn't he?" Fred smiled and Noel, who just shook her head yes.

Fred got down next to Stan and began to talk to him, "You're lucky this happened at the beach, she did the same thing twice in London and the poor guys had to walk around the rest of the night with pee stains on their cloths, at least you can jump in the ocean and cover up that you pissed yourself. Now when you can move, if I were you, I'd leave my girlfriend and my best friend alone, because if they can do this to you just think what I could do to you."

Later at the apartment Sam bowed down in front Noel and began to chant, "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, you are the Queen! That was the most awesome display of brute force and cunning I have ever seen in my life! You played that worm like a master. Freddie and Carly, she had him going so good I really thought he was going to start spanking his monkey right there, oh and that little slide down the blanket just before the kick, people we are in the presents of a true genius! I'm making you an honorary Puckett for life."

The two women hugged and the entire group laughed. Later in the evening, after Carly went to bed and Fred went to make a taco run for the three of them, Noel and Sam sat and talked alone about everything and nothing.

"You don't happen to have a brother do you?" Sam asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm an only child," Noel said, "I wish I did though, because I couldn't think of anyone better to hook him up with than you."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me," Sam smiled, "It means a lot to me to see how happy Freddie is with you. I want to thank you for putting the smile back on his face. He's a really awesome guy and he deserves the best, and I think he's found it in you. I feel like you're a sister and I know I told you this when I was drunk, but I want to tell you one more time, I don't think you will, but if you hurt him in any way at all, I'll have to hurt you bad. He's the best there is and he should be as happy as possible. Understand?"

"I understand, and you have my word that I'll never hurt him," Noel took Sam's hand; "He thinks he has dated above himself with me when the truth is I'm the one who reached above me to date him."

After Fred returned with the tacos, they ate and talked and laughed till Noel got up to go to sleep. After she went to the bedroom, Fred took Sam's hands and helped her up and gave her a huge hug, "Thanks Sam."

"For what?" she asked.

"For today and for all that you're doing for Noel, I really love her and want her to feel at home here and with my friends. You really made her feel welcome today and I just wanted to thank you for that and let you know that it means a lot to me."

They looked into each others eyes and Fred leaned down and kissed Sam on the forehead, "Goodnight Princess Puckett."

"Goodnight Freddie," Sam said.

Despite herself she found that she really like Noel thought of her as a friend now.

.

.

Sorry this took so long, health problems have kept me down. I'm sad tonight because earlier this evening a good friend of mine from the hospital, Ginny, passed away. She was strong and funny and a lot like Sam. I dedicate this chapter to her and her memory. I only wish she could have lived to see the whole story. For the first time I feel scared about my future and a little alone.

I hope you like this chapter, and as always, let me know what you think.


	7. Gentle On My Mind

**Gentle On My Mind**

**The first week of classes came and went very quickly. Sam and Noel shared an art class and economics class together, and the four of them shared an English class together. Sam, Noel, and Carly began to form a very tight bond. Fred began to call them "Freddie's Angels" and the name stuck. Much to Fred's delight Sam and Noel really began to act more like sisters than friends. The little group began to jell and form into a kind of family.**

**Sam never expected to find herself in this predicament, becoming such good friends with Noel. She had hoped that would lessen her feelings for Freddie, but instead she was now more in love with him than ever before. She was handling it better but still felt a deep pain when she would hear them make love or see them in their playful mood. **

**As the last days of summer gave way to the cooler days of fall Fred began to get moody and quiet. The normal carefree grin that he wore most of the time was gone, replaced by a melancholy stare and bouts of drifting away from the women, missing questions asked of him and staring into space. He even began to pull away from Noel, turning in on himself and blocking everyone and everything out. **

**A week before Thanksgiving Sam came home from classes early and planed to kick back and relax. Noel was going join her later and the two were going to watch a zombie movie together. As soon as she opened the door she knew something was wrong, the whole apartment was dark and quiet except for the sound coming out of Noel's and Freddie's room. It was a low almost whisper of voices and the sound of someone weeping heavily. Sam slowly pushed the door open, trying to be as quiet as possible, and looked in.**

**What she saw broke her heart. Freddie was sitting on the floor with his head on the bed watching a video of his mom and him on some Thanksgiving past eating and laughing together. Sam felt a tear roll down her own face. She had never seen "crazy" smile let alone heard her laugh. She seemed almost normal in the video, even fun. She guessed that Freddie must have been about ten in this video. Mrs. Benson looked much younger and didn't seem to be as uptight as she was later in life.**

"**You can come in Sam, if you want to," Fred said in a hushed tone. **

"**How the hell did you know I was here?" Sam walked into the room and sat down beside him.**

"**You forget, I've known you most of my life and I know how you breath."**

"**That's pretty creepy stuff Freddie. This is why you've been so distant lately, first holiday without your mom?"**

"**I was nine in this one, she was still somewhat together then. When I turned ten she started to slip much faster. I've never been sure why she turned into what she did, I just always assumed that it was because she didn't want me to grow up and leave her alone, but the truth is I just don't know," Fred talked to her in a hushed whisper that sounded melancholy and weary.**

"**I never knew she laughed, hell I don't think I ever saw the woman smile," Sam laid her head on Freddie's shoulder and watched the screen in amazement as Marissa Benson began having a food fight with her son. She was throwing mashed potatoes at him and he was throwing green peas at her. They looked happy.**

"**She's throwing food, real honest to god food and not that crazy health food shit I always saw her try to feed you," Sam laughed.**

"**She had her moments," Fred said in a whisper.**

"**You two look like you're having a great time, but who took the video?" Sam asked as she watched his somber face begin to crack into a small grin.**

"**Just wait."**

**Suddenly the camera moved as if someone had set it down and a very large built man with a scar stepped into the frame and began to throw squash at both of them while yelling, "Incoming!"**

"**Who is that?" she looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.**

"**Remember the guy that came to protect me after the "Shadow Hammer" thing, well that's the guy his name's Gunsmoke, he and my mom knew each other since I was born. I think the two of them had some kind of history together. He was killed in Iraq in 2012, mom cried for a week," Fred watched the fight on screen and laughed as his mom got a pie in the face from Gunsmoke.**

"**Dude, you need to talk to us, Noel's been worried that she had done something to make you mad, to tell you the truth we all had thought that," Sam turned his head so that they faced each other.**

"**I just feel so alone Sam."**

"**Alone, are you kidding me? You live with the three hottest chicks on campus, have two women who think you hung the moon and would do anything for you, there's not one person on this campus that doesn't know who you are and wouldn't do something for you if you needed them too, and to top it all off you have a girlfriend who followed you halfway around the world just to be with you, you are the most unalone person on the I've ever met," Sam smiled at him and was relived to see his face light up and the smirk that drove her wild spread across his face.**

"**Thanks Sam, I needed that. I just feels weird not having any family and I let get to me," they both stared at each other.**

"**You always have family as long as you have me…us, I mean us, we are your family and we always will be, forever," Sam said in a hushed tone as she found herself leaning into Freddie.**

**Fred leaned into Sam and for a minute thought about kissing her, but thought it would be inappropriate so he pulled up and kissed her forehead instead, "You're the best Sam, I love you," he hugged her and Sam found herself breathing in his scent and cursing the fact that Freddie was the kind of guy who might cheat. Of course the fact that he wouldn't is what made her love him so much. For his part Fred found himself wondering why some guy hadn't seen how fantastic Sam was and made her his own.**

**Later that evening when Noel got home Fred took her into their room and told her why he had been acting the way he had and the two spent several hours just laying together talking and cuddling. When they came out they found Carly and Sam had ordered pizza and they all sat around the T.V. and ate as Fred showed them the home movies. One that brought them all to silence was one where Fred looked to be about eight and he and his mom were sitting out in the grass at a park somewhere and Fred's mom asked him to sing and play her favorite song for her. Fred took the guitar that she handed him and began to play a simple sweet tune. His mother smiled and began to rock in time to the tune and then Fred began to sing in a beautiful voice the song his mother loved:**

It's knowin' that your door is always open  
>And your path is free to walk<br>That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag  
>Rolled up and stashed behind your couch<br>And it's knowin' I'm not shackled  
>By forgotten words and bonds<br>And the ink stains that have dried upon some line  
>That keeps you in the back roads<br>By the rivers of my memory  
>That keeps you ever gentle on my mind<p>

It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy  
>Planted on their columns now that bind me<br>Or something that somebody said because  
>They thought we fit together walkin'<br>It's just knowing that the world  
>Will not be cursing or forgiving<br>When I walk along some railroad track and find  
>That you're movin' on the back roads<br>By the rivers of my memory  
>And for hours you're just gentle on my mind<p>

Though the wheat fields and the clothes lines  
>And the junkyards and the highways come between us<br>And some other woman's cryin' to her mother  
>'cause she turned and I was gone<br>I still might run in silence  
>Tears of joy might stain my face<br>And the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind  
>But not to where I cannot see<br>You walkin' on the back roads  
>By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind<p>

I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin' cracklin' cauldron  
>In some train yard<br>My beard a rustlin' coal pile  
>And a dirty hat pulled low across my face<br>Through cupped hands 'round a tin can  
>I pretend to hold you to my breast and find<br>That you're waitin' from the back roads  
>By the rivers of my memory<br>Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind

**The video ended with a shot of Marissa Benson smiling and hugging her son. The video paused and Fred reached out and touched the screen. They could see he was crying and they said nothing. He traced the outline of her face with his finger and whispered through the tears, "I miss you mom, oh God I miss you."**

**His head lowered his head and began to sob. The three women were sobbing themselves, feeling the pain that he was going through. Noel crawled up beside him and whispered, "I know what it's like to lose your mother Fred, I'm so, so sorry," she wrapped her arms around him and he lowered his head to her shoulder and finally after almost a year broke down and wailed over the loss of his mother, his whole body shook and Sam and Carly joined the two of them in a group hug and they all cried.**

**After about an hour Fred was curled up in a ball his head in Noel's lap and he slept. She rubbed his back and ran her fingers through his hair. Sam and Carly left the two of them in the living room alone and went to bed.**

**When the sun rose the next morning, Fred awoke to find that he had slept in Noel's lap and that she had fallen asleep in a most awkward position because of that. He looked up at her and marveled at how someone as lowly as he could have found such an angel as her and had her fall in love with him. She had saved him last night again. He had felt like the world had swallowed him up, but then he had felt arms around him and knew it was her and he finally could let go of the grief that he had hidden for so long. He also knew that she loved him unconditionally and would stand by him no matter what.**

**The other thought that crossed his mind was that Sam had made this all possible with the talk she had given him before last night. Then two other things crossed his mind as he drifted back to sleep. She had looked like she wanted to kiss him and she had said he had two women who thought he hung the moon. What had she meant by that? Who was the second woman? He fell back to sleep happy but confused.**

**They sat around the breakfast table talking and laughing just like old times. They made plans for the holiday, Carly said that Spencer was going with his girlfriend to Texas for the holiday so they decided to have a dinner with their little extended family right there in the apartment. Noel, who had never celebrated the holiday, offered to fix the turkey and Sam stepped up to do the dressing. Carly took the deserts and Fred said he would take care of the other side dishes. The rest of the week flew by and on Friday night the group was getting ready to head out when Noel and Sam suggested that they try this new bar that had a great band on the other side of town. When they arrived Fred noticed that his buddy Mark's band was playing. He got excited at the prospect of getting to hear him play and sing. Sam and Noel winked at each other and Fred noticed it. 'What the hell was that about?' he thought to himself, 'Why do I feel like I'm being set up all of a sudden?'**

**The bar was fairly large and had a huge dance floor. Mark smiled at them as they can in and pulled the group down close to the stage. Fred noticed that Mark had his right arm in a sling, not good for someone who played guitar.**

"**Glad you guys are here," Mark smiled at them, "Fred, buddy, do you still play guitar? I had a little problem with the steps at the dorm and as you can see, fucked my arm up earlier today. We're going to lose the gig if we can't find someone to play in my place. I won't ask you to sing unless you want to, but dude can you please help me out, please, please."**

"**I'll try man, but I can't guarantee that I know all the songs," Fred told him, "Let's look at the set list and see what we can do."**

"**Dude, you're a lifesaver, we'll split the pay with you and I'll owe you for life," Mark smiled at him and led him toward the stage.**

**The women took a table near the stage and settled in for the show. Before the show several men approached the women and were turned away quickly and in some cases with their egos bruised or broken. It still worried Carly that Sam had all but stopped looking at the guys who chased after her. She knew that Sam was on a collision course with disaster and she felt like she couldn't help her avoid it. Sam was stubborn when it came to most anything, but with Fred she was downright unmovable. She was going to ride this ride till it crashed and burned, Carly just hoped that there would be enough pieces of Sam left to put back together.**

**The owner of the bar took the stage and tapped the mike, "All right settle down," he paused to let the crowd settle down, "Ladies and Gents "The Black Hole" is proud to present "Mike and the Zombies", stand up and clap you animals!"**

**The crowd clapped and whistled as the band took the stage. Fred smiled down at his ladies as he strapped the guitar on. The women cheered and made catcalls at him and caused him to blush.**

"**As you guys can see I've got a problem with my wing here, so I've asked my good friend Fred Benson to sit in with us tonight. He's a kickass player and he's got a great voice and I expect you guys to show him some massive love," Mike spoke to the crowd like he owned them, "Now our first number features our man Fred on lead guitar and vocals and the song fits my man to a tee, boys and girls I give you "Smooth"," Mike stepped back and grabbed shaker as Fred stepped to the mike and began to countdown, which made Sam and Carly smile, "In five, four, three, two…," Fred began to play the guitar with the style of someone who played it every night. It had a sensual tone to it that brought everyone to their feet and the crowd began to dance. Noel, Sam, and Carly stared at each other in mild disbelief at just how good he was.**

**Fred stepped to the mike and began to sing with the same sensual tone in his voice that he was playing on the guitar,**

Man it's a hot one  
>Like seven inches from the midday sun<br>Well I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone  
>But you stay so cool<br>My mu equita my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa  
>You're my reason for reason<br>The step in my groove  
>Yea<p>

And if you say, "This life ain't good enough"  
>I would give my world to lift you up<br>I could change my life to better suit your mood  
>'Cause you're so smooth<p>

And it's just like the ocean under the moon  
>Well it's the same as the emotion that I get from you<br>You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah  
>Gimme your heart, make it real<br>Or else forget about it

**Fred began to tear into the first guitar solo and Noel and Sam saw him disappear into a huge smile and just turn himself over to the music. It was almost spiritual to watch him play, you could see the dark demons that had haunted him for the past few weeks leave his body with every lick of the strings as he played. His face broke into a huge "shit eating" grin and both women high fived each other and felt tears roll down their cheeks, it was that beautiful a sight to see him that happy.**

I'll tell you one thing  
>If you would leave it would be a crying shame<br>In every breath and every word I hear your name callin' me out  
>Out from the barrio you hear my rhythm from your radio<br>You feel the turning of the world so soft and slow  
>Turning you round and round <p>

**Sam and Noel began to dance with the sensual rhythm of the music and Fred's voice and every man at the bar took notice. Fred smiled at them and winked at Noel and sang looking only at them. Carly watched from the table and wondered if the two of them were aware that they were both dancing just for him and that it was really a mating dance that they were doing. This wasn't going to end well, when it ended and Carly saw Sam being shattered, but couldn't seem to pull her back from the abyss she was headed down. For that matter, Sam didn't seem to care, she was lost in the idea that this could work out good for everyone. **

"**Oh shit," Carly said to herself, "this is so fucking jank. It's like watching a train wreck, I don't want to look, but I can't turn around and not look!" **

And if you say, "This life ain't good enough"  
>I would give my world to lift you up<br>I could change my life to better suit your mood  
>'Cause you're so smooth<p>

And it's just like the ocean under the moon  
>Well it's the same as the emotion that I get from you<br>You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah  
>Gimme your heart, make it real<br>Or else forget about it

Fred played the second solo like a man possessed and the crowd was going wild. Sam began to swing her hips from side to side and she was matched by Noel who began to gyrate around with her whole body and both of them never took their eyes off of Fred. The other men at the bar were looking at the two hot blondes and were very turned on. Even some of the women had to admit that the two were hot. They were both approached by guys wanting to dance, well really just to rub up against them, but both men were sent away looking rather dejected from the attempt.

And just like the ocean under the moon  
>Well it's the same as the emotion that I get from you<br>You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah  
>Gimme your heart make it real<br>Or else forget about it  
>Yeah<p>

Or else forget about it  
>Or else forget about it<br>Or else forget about it  
>(Gimme your heart make it real)<br>Or else forget about it  
>(yeah)<br>Let's don' forget about it  
>(Oh, no, no)<br>(Oh)  
>Let's don' forget about it<br>(Oh, no, no)  
>(Oh)<br>Let's don' forget about it  
>(yeah)<br>(Ahh, Ohh)  
>Let's don' forget about it<br>(Yeah, yeah)

Fred turned around and caught Mike clapping with both hands and raised his eyebrow at him. Noel and Sam both slapped their hands on their foreheads and drug them down their faces. Mike shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "I got better," he smiled at Fred and took the guitar as Fred passed it back to him.

"I think I've been set up," he grinned and spun to see Noel and Sam turn and look off at something that wasn't there, "What did they offer you to get you to do this?"

"Nothing dude, they just said you were down and asked if I'd help you out. I owe you a lifetime of favors my man so I said sure," Mike smiled at his friend, "Dude, listen to that crowd, you were on fire. That was FUCKING EPIC DUDE!"

"Thanks man, it was fun, but I think I'll join the women now, but if you need me again just let me know," Fred and Mike gave each other the standard man hug and Fred left the stage and headed toward the table the women had.

As he made his way to the table, a redheaded young woman approached him. She was thin and tall, five foot nine, and had freckles. She wore a short blue jean skirt that just did cover the bottom of her ass and a top that stopped just below the swell of her small breast. She didn't appear to be wearing a bra and she was bouncing up and down to show her breasts off. Her eyes were red rimmed, so Fred guessed she had had been drinking or something else quite a bit already, and as she spoke to him her speech was slurred.

"God that was so hot," she ran her hand across his bicep and then his chest and giggled and tried her best to look seductively at him.

Noel and Sam quickly jumped up from the table and began to make their way toward couple, Noel had fire in her eyes and Sam appeared to be just as upset also. The floor was covered with people and progress toward them was slow.

"God you're buff, so you want dance or maybe we could just slip into the bathroom and make a little magic for each other," she ran her hand down to the front of his pants and her eyes went wide, "Damn, maybe we should go to my place to use that monster."

"Thanks, but no thanks, and by the way, what's your name?" Fred grinned in spite of himself at this horny, drunk, and loose young woman and her very uninteresting offer of sex.

"Randi, my name is Randi and what are you a fag or something, turning down a sure thing like me. You ain't gonna find a better offer than this," she ran her hands up and down her body, "You gotta be queer? Right?"

"Hey mon amour," Noel said as she reached Fred and slipped her arms around his neck and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and hungrily began to kiss him.

Randi was taken aback by the woman who had just walked up and molested the guy she was trying to seduce, "Hey bitch, what's your fucking…" she never finished the sentence because Sam placed her right leg behind the girls legs and pushed her hard, sending her to the floor, "Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, I was watching this slut throw herself at my friends boyfriend and… oh that was you, yikes, I guess I put my foot in my mouth which is what will happen to you if you fuck with my friends man slutarella, just something for you to think about the next time you Mack on a stud who's way out of your league in a club."

Noel and Fred came up for air and Fred smirked at her, "You just chased off a "sure thing" with red there. She wanted to go to her place and use my "monster", and I'm never going to get a better offer than that!"

"Fuck you douze dimanche de formes et de cuire puis à déjeuner le matin mon amour, is that a better offer or what?" Noel smiled at him and rubbed herself against his crouch.

"Creo que necesito para componer letras usted esta noche mi amor y quizás dar rienda suelta a la serpiente en el chocho bonite, does that sound like a plan to you?" Fred grinned back at her and whispered into her ear, sending her into amorous chill and causing her to moan.

Sam had no idea what they said to each other, but it made her horny anyway. 'This is going to be harder than I thought,' Sam said in her mind, 'god I want him to fuck me till I can't stand right now. That song he played and sang was so hot and the way he moved has left me feeling very sexually frustrated right now.'

"So I take it you two set this whole thing up tonight?" Fred's question brought Sam out of her little daydream.

"Noel came up with the idea," Sam started to say.

"We both came up with the idea after watching the video of you and your mom, and Sam talked to Mark," Noel stepped in and took over the tale.

"I asked him if he'd do it and he said "anything for my bud", damn Freddie is there anyone on campus that doesn't like you?" Sam asked as the three of them walked, well Sam and Fred walked and Noel was carried, back to their table.

"I'm going to say that the guys you two shot down while dancing and I think red probably doesn't like any of us right now," Fred laughed and placed a kiss on Noel's neck which sent a shiver through her body.

Sam spent the night in a sensual and mental funk. She could hear the sounds from Freddie's and Noel's room and besides making her feel alone, it was making her horny and frustrated to the point of going out and buying herself a "toy" and taking care of business herself. Her dreams that night were full of Freddie and in none of them were the two of them clothed or doing anything she would tell anyone about, well she might tell Carly just to see her blush.

Thanksgiving day was a very special day for the group, the family, that had grown between the friends. The family cooked together in the kitchen, laughing and cutting up, and in general having a blast. Fred and Noel laughed and hugged and kissed often Carly noticed, just as she noticed that Sam made sure to touch and poke and slap at Fred any chance she got.

'This is turning into an epic fail with every passing day.' Carly thought to herself as the four of them cooked, 'Bless his heart, Fred has got to be the most oblivious man on the face of the earth not to see that Sam is head over heels in love with him. But since he has Noel feeling the same way and is in love with her, he really shouldn't notice anything but Noel. I'm going to age fifty years by the time this all hits the fan.'

The new family sat down about twelve-thirty and ate their meal. Fred cut the turkey and they ate in silence, enjoying the great food.

Sam stood and raised her glass of tea and said, "A toast to absent family and to those who are no longer with us," she nodded to Freddie, "and Marissa this is for you," Sam picked up a spoon full of green peas and flicked them in Freddie's face with a laugh.

"What the hell Puckett?" Fred wiped the peas off his face and gave Sam a smirk and picked up the gravy boat, "It's so on Princess Puckett!"

"Nub, put the gravy boat down," Sam stood and backed away from the table, "The wasting of gravy is a capital offence in this state nub, stay away," she tried to run, but Fred grabbed her and poured some of the gravy over her head and down her shirt, laughing the whole time.

"Damn it would you two stop, I'm not going to clean this mess," Carly was stopped by mashed potatoes hitting her in the face.

Noel laughed and hurled potatoes at both Sam and Fred, scoring hits on both of them.

Carly wiped the potatoes off her face, "Oh, fuck it," and picked up the cranberry sauce and began to sling it at Noel, hitting her in the face, "I'm gonna kick some ass!"

The four of them had a massive food fight and then settled down, cleaned up and sat down to watch a movie. Noel sat in Fred's lap and Sam leaned her head on Freddie's shoulder. Carly just stared at them and shook her head.

.

.

I really enjoyed this chapter; I guess you can tell by the length. I want to thank and acknowledge twowritehands, two of the finest writers here, and want to thank them for the permission to use Gunsmoke and Mrs. Benson as they did in one of the best stories I've read in a long time, "I Care Now", it answers a lot of questions about Freddie's mom that we've never known. And is a great seddie story to boot. Even before you review this chapter, go read this story. They have also given me permission to write a story set during the complete time frame of theirs about the relationship between Mrs. Benson and Gunsmoke.

I felt that Fred needed to grieve for his mom and that this was a great place for Sam to show her soft side to him and explore the closeness between Sam and Noel as they become friends.

We still have a way to go before the wedding (a year and a half), but I wanted to start showing the feeling of both women.

I know Nathan Kress plays the guitar, and I just wanted to show him with his hair down.

As always let me know what you think.


	8. Of Mistletoe And Men

Of Mistletoe And Men

A.N. = Dwyn Arthur brought up a very good point to me. I haven't told much about Noel thoughts and feelings. I hope this chapter rectifies that's Situation. Thanks for sticking with me and my story gentle readers.

Midterm exams had been exhausting, but they were done with them now and they were on Christmas brake. The group began to decorate the apartment. Carly was leaving on the twenty-third to head home for the holidays with Spencer and his girlfriend and their Dad. Noel was going to Switzerland to meet her father for their annual Christmas ski trip. She was excited at the prospect of Fred getting to spend time with her and her father. She wanted her father to see what she saw in Fred. She wanted her father to see the quiet strength and confidence that had attracted her to him. The way he knew what he wanted and knew how to get it. Her father needed to see how Fred was a gentleman with not just her, but all women.

Noel had found new avenues of love for him now that they lived together. She had marveled at how Fred seemed to bring out the best in people just by being near them. The night they had shared after watching the video of him and his mother had proved to her that she needed this man in her life. He had opened up to her and they had talked about all the things that neither of them had talked about to anyone ever before. He had listened to her and she could feel the strength of his love washing over her as she lowered her walls and let him inside. He understood what she had been through, he had been an only child like her and they had both lost their mothers. She had spent the whole night disclosing everything that she had kept hidden from everyone else to him and had found not only understanding, but a connection that went past just flesh and blood, a connection that if she believed in reincarnation, which she didn't, she would say was the meeting of two old souls that had loved before and had found each other again. She had fallen in love with him all over again.

What had caught her off guard was the way he was with his friends. She had expected herself to be jealous of the two beautiful women who had filled her Fred's life for such a long time, but had found herself instead thinking of them as sisters that she had never had. Carly was the one that Fred had told her that he had had a crush when he was younger, but you could tell they were like brother and sister now. Sam was a different story though. The two of them had a long and complicated relationship that everyone but them seemed to understand. Fred had told her all about Sam and she knew that he had a special place in his heart and his life that no one would ever remove her from. Rather than be upset by that, Noel had found that it was part of what made her love him so much. He was protective of her and all his friends. She and Sam had quickly become friends and even though she was aware the Sam still felt something for Fred, she knew that she only wanted what made Fred happy. She trusted Sam with her life, but she knew if anything ever happened to her that Sam wouldn't let Fred be alone. She was still amazed that this man had happened into her life and she thanked God everyday that he had.

Sam's Christmas plans were not in place. Her sister wasn't coming home from school and her mom was going to, well to be honest, she didn't know what the hell she was doing, so after several invitations, she was going with the couple on their ski trip and Carly was fit to be tied about it.

"Sam as your friend and someone who loves you deeply, I'm telling you that this is over stepping your bounds. You can't go to Switzerland with them you just can't. She's introducing him to her father and this is a time for JUST the three of them to bond. Besides just being wrong, think about how it's going to feel for you to see her father like him and to watch them get close. You told me you weren't going to try to break them up, well honey this counts as throwing a monkey wrench into the works. Noel may not mind, but do you think that her father is going to like the idea of you coming with them? He'll spot in a second that you're in love with Fred and that's not going to set well with him at all. Come with me to see Spencer and my dad, please, don't do this to them or to yourself," Carly argued with her best friend.

"Alright Carl's, chilllax, I'll go with you," Sam sounded miffed at her, but Carly didn't care, just so long as she didn't go with Fred and Noel and screw things up.

Noel burst through the door at three o'clock as mad as either woman had ever seen her, "Stupid fucking des réunions du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies, pourquoi ne le monde réunir sa merde pour une fois?" Noel vented in French, which neither woman spoke, but they could tell from what they did understand that something was "fucking stupid" and they both hoped it wasn't them, "This holiday was very important to me, Daddy was finally going to get to meet the man I love, and this was finally going to be the time for my daddy to see what a great man Fred is. This is the first time I've been really in love with anyone and I want my daddy to see what I see in him."

"You've never been in love before?" Sam found the concept of this beautiful woman never having been in love before baffling to her, "Not even once, Freddie is your first love, EVER?"

Noel blushed at Sam and sat down on the couch and blew a breath out very slowly before she spoke, "I had maybe three guys that I "liked", she placed air quotes around liked, "but till I met Fred, no I guess I never really love anyone before. He made me see what I had been missing all this time, you know? I just thought it was love before, but it was never like this. Can I tell you guys something, in private?"

Sam and Carly looked around to make sure that they were alone, although they both knew they were, and nodded their heads yes.

Noel looked around also and then turned to them with a huge blush forming over her face and whispered, "He can make me have an orgasm just looking at me with those brown eyes of his. Really, I mean it, he gets this hungry wild look in his eyes and I just know what he's think and what's about to happen and I just lose it," she fell back giggling, something that she never did in the entire time that they had known her.

Sam and Carly looked at each other and burst out laughing. The three of them fell to the floor laughing at the confession Noel had made. Both women did understand why Noel felt that way, Fred's eyes were like magnets that would pull you in and you could see the entire range of his emotions in his gaze. Sam had found herself lost is his eyes and could easily understand how sensual they could be.

"If either of you repeat that or what I'm about to tell you, I'll have to hurt you, but one of the things that he does that is so damn sexy to me has nothing to do with a touch or a look," Noel grinned and looked at them like a school girl, "When we watch movies, any movies, especially ones where it has an uplifting ending or where something sad happens, he tears up. We watched the movie "Miracle" about the 1980 Olympic hockey team and when they won at the end and beat the Russians, he had tears streaming down his face. He laughed and asked if I thought he was a wimp for crying and I had to tell him that I thought it was sexy. I've never had a man that I was with who was so secure with himself that he would cry in front of me and not try to hide it. It was all I could do to keep from jumping him then and there."

They both looked at Noel and had to admit that it did sound nice that he wasn't afraid to let her see all of himself. Carly looked at Noel and seemed hesitant for a moment and finally looked like whatever war she had going on inside her head was over and she just couldn't not ask, "Before he left for England Sam and I were informed something about Fred that well, I know I shouldn't ask and I'm not sure why I want to know, but we were told that Fred is rather… um… that he's got… I mean… ah… well you know that he has a big… um large… a more than average sized… cock. Is that true? I know I'm out of bounds, but it's just us friends here and it's been bugging the shit out of me to know, do you mind if I ask?"

"Carly?" Sam choked as she laughed, "What the fuck? I can't believe you just asked that. Talk about crossing a line, you just jumped over it and then erased it. But since she did bring it up Noel, is he swinging low or what?"

Noel felt like she was going to burst, she was laughing so hard. She knew her face must be at least three shades redder than her two friends were at the moment, but she also took some pride in answering their question, "My friend Marie said it best when she walked in on us one time in our flat in London, she said and I quote, "Merde, il est suspendu à un cheval," unquote, which translates to, "Shit, he's hung like a horse!"

The three of them began to roll on the floor and gasp for air in-between laughs. Sam began to snort and Carly began to make a baby kind of sound that defied description. Noel had to make a beeline for the bathroom so as not to pee on herself. By the time she returned the laughter had died down for the most part and she continued the story, "The first time I saw him naked I couldn't see anyway at all that that, what I guess must be at least thirteen inches long and thick as a summer sausage, is going to fit inside me, and at the same time knew I had to have that inside me. I'll be honest and tell you both that I wasn't a virgin, I mean I wasn't a slut, but I had been with two other "boys" before, but I was seriously concerned for my safety with that. That is when he showed me talent number two and three. He has magic hands and he is a master of oral love. I truly feel sorry for the girls that had him as their first time, because no one could ever "measure" up to him. God you two must think I'm some kind of pervert telling you all this."

"Nope, not at all sister," Sam smiled at her, even as she was wishing that the tale was being told by her instead of to her, "Glad to my sister is getting it good. I just wish I had something like that to share with you, but my guys have all been duds for the most part."

Fred walked in the door right about then and the girls suddenly stopped talking, "Did I interrupt something?" he asked as he stared at them.

They all looked into his eyes and began to bat their eyelashes at him and Sam spoke for the group in a fawning manner, "Oh no Freddie, gee your eyes are so dreamy," all three girls grinned at each other and at him.

"Uh… mm… thanks I guess?" he seemed confused by the statement.

"Gosh Fred, your hands sure are handsome," Carly added in a very girly manner.

"Ok, once again, thank you?" Fred was now completely at a loss as to what was going on.

"So, Mon amour, are you "fenced in, or are you roaming free" today?" Noel asked as all three of them turned their eyes to his crotch and began to giggle.

Fred had just form the "w" with his mouth for the word what when it hit him what they were doing and he went from red to purple in a millisecond as found himself very embarrassed, "Ok, I don't ever want to know, ever, now I have some presents to wrap and if you need in our room knock and I'll unlock the door. But first Noel, I'm going to have to leave you and your father early because I got a letter from Pear Industries today, they want to fly me to L.A. on the twenty-seventh to meet with C.E.O. Stan White, I got the summer intern job and Sam they want to by the mood app., so me, you, and Brad are going to make fifty thousand dollars each for creating it. They love it and my application and want me to take the intern job in research and development."

Noel jumped up and gave Fred a kiss and hugged him, "That's great and the Security Council has called a special meeting and daddy can't go anyway so that works out ok."

"Freddie, why would they give me or Brad anything, it was your project, we just did what you told us to do, it belongs to you," Sam was stunned that he would even offer them any of the money, especially after what they had done to him, she had done to him.

"You were both part of the team and I demanded that you both get an equal share of the money, you earned it, both of you," Fred smiled at her not understanding why she felt she and Brad didn't deserve a share of the money.

Once again Sam found herself wondering how she had let him slip through her hands. 'God I'm the stupidest bitch on the planet' she thought to her self.

"It looks like the three of us will be here for the holidays," Fred said with a grin.

"I think Sam is going home with me," Carly jumped in.

"No, she was going with us, so we'll just celebrate here together, besides it's been a few years since you saw your father, and you guys really should have some alone time. It wouldn't be right for any of us to come between you two," Sam smiled as Freddie put Carly's earlier words back on her.

"Yea Carly, it wouldn't be right for me to stand in the way of you spending time with your dad," Sam saw Carly shoot her a huge scowl and she smirked back at her.

"Anyway, I got presents to wrap so I'll leave you ladies to whatever it was you were talking about," Fred headed into his and Noel's bedroom and closed the door.

.

They threw the Christmas party on the twenty-first, the day after Carly left to go home, and invited everyone that was left on campus, which wasn't many, but they still had about thirty people show up. The decided to call it "The Christmas, I ain't got nowhere to go party, and it helped brighten the season of a lot of lonely people. Everyone was having a blast and the mood was very festive.

As they danced Noel once again found herself lost in her Fred's arms. She had tried a few times to think about where she would be if she hadn't have met him and she just couldn't imagine her life without him now. She laid her head into his chest as they slow danced and lost herself in him.

The real trouble began at about ten-thirty. Fred saw him first, as he was slowly dancing with Noel; He was just as sleazy looking as he remembered him to be. He was maybe six foot tall and had sandy blonde hair that was already thinning out quite a bit, and he walked in the door like he owned the place. All he needed was a few gold chains around his neck and he could pass as a seventies disco slime ball.

"Dean, that heartbreaking son-of-a-bitch has got a lot of nerve showing up here," Fred said out loud.

Noel raised her head off his chest and looked at the man Fred was talking about, 'Who's Dean?"

"He's the piece of shit that broke Sam's heart. She was ready to marry him, if he had asked, but one night at a party she found him cheating on her. I had to go pick her up and then spent five months picking up the pieces and putting her back together again. I should stomp his ass into the ground right now," Fred was fuming as he told the story.

Noel found herself hot for Fred at that moment. He cared so much for his friend and their wellness, that it made her positive than ever that she was beyond the point of hope in love with him.

Dean made a beeline for Sam, she didn't notice that she was under the mistletoe, and tapped her on the shoulder, "You're standing under the mistletoe, Sambo," he said to her.

"What the fuck are you doing her Dean?" Sam was beyond mad now.

"I heard you were having a party and I just wanted to say Merry Christmas, and tell you I've missed you and that I'm sorry about what I did to you. I've done a lot of growing up since we split and I'm not the same asshole I was Sambo, I've changed, I hope for the better and I know that I don't deserve it and I'll understand if you say no, but could you see your way clear to giving us another try?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Sam shouted at him, "Another try? You got balls the size of Texas to think I'd let you have another chance to fuck with my head!"

Fred and Noel walked up to the couple and Fred said in a loud whisper, "Dean, get your ass out of here now and don't ever show up here again, you got me."

"Who the fuck do you think you are Freddie, you don't tell me what to do?" Dean stared at Fred.

"I'm the guy that cleaned up your mess with Sam, and no way are you putting her through that hell again, so just get the hell out of here." Fred said in a menacing tone.

Dean turned to say something to Sam, but Sam buried her head in Freddie's shoulder and said, "Get as far away from me as you can you bastard, and don't ever come near me again.

He left, looking rather dejected, and Sam began to cry softly into Freddie's chest. The party pretty much ended after that and everyone left. Noel went to their room and told Fred to take as much time as he needed to with Sam. She kissed him and gave Sam a hug and kissed her on the cheek and went to bed.

Sam just said nothing and kept her head in Freddie's chest. After an hour she spoke very quietly, "Why do all the jerks and loser end up at my door, am I that bad that I keep pulling them into my orbit or what?"

"Sam you're great, your problem is you just don't know it. You date beneath you princess, you don't think you deserve the best and you settle. You need to be with someone who gets you and knows what he has, someone who can't stand to be out of your sight for too long, someone who always understands just how beautiful and special you are and thanks God everyday that you're in his life. That's what you need and what you should have."

With tears in her eyes Sam looked up at him and asked in a hushed tone, "Would you slow dance with me Freddie?"

"It would be my honor princess," He smiled at her and she felt the whole world could run off of that smile.

He turned on the radio and found a slow song on it and took her hand and brought her to her feet and pulled her close. She listened to the tune and the lyrics of the song and marveled at just how appropriate they were for what she was feeling. They began to make slow circles as they danced:

Maybe I hang around here  
>A little more than I should<br>We both know I got somewhere else to go  
>But I got something to tell you<br>That I never thought I would  
>But I believe you really ought to know<p>

I love you  
>I honestly love you<p>

Sam felt the sting of the lyrics in her heart, so many times she had wanted the strength to say those words to him, to let him know that he was more than a nub or just a friend in her mind and in her heart. She laid her hear on his chest as a single tear fell down her face.

You don't have to answer  
>I see it in your eyes<br>Maybe it was better left unsaid  
>This is pure and simple<br>And you should realize  
>That it's coming from my heart and not my head<p>

I love you  
>I honestly love you<p>

As they danced, Sam sighed and began to listen to the beating of Freddie's heart. It was strong and slow and it filled her ears with a peace that spread through out her body. It felt so right to her to be in his arms, to feel the warmth that he gave off. She couldn't understand how she had overlooked him for so many years.

I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable  
>I'm not trying to make you anything at all<br>But this feeling doesn't come along everyday  
>And you shouldn't blow the chance<br>When you've got the chance to say

I love you  
>I honestly love you<p>

Sam leaned back and looked up into Freddie's eyes. He stared back at her and Sam knew why Noel was in love with those eyes. 'God those eyes are gorgeous' she thought to herself. They almost looked black sometimes they were so dark brown. She wanted her babies to have those eyes.

Fred looked into Sam's eyes and was suddenly struck by how beautiful and blue they were. Sam was so attractive and great that he couldn't understand why she didn't have great guy's crawling all over her. He had so hoped at one time she would look at him and turn her love over to him, but she never did. It had hurt at first, more so than anything that had happened with Carly, but he had finally had let the hope go after Brad. He still wondered if someday after they both married and had kids if he would tell her about his crush.

If we both were born  
>In another place and time<br>This moment might be ending in a kiss  
>But there you are with yours<br>And here I am with mine  
>So I guess we'll just be leaving it at this<p>

I love you  
>I honestly love you<br>I honestly love you

They kept staring into each others eyes and as the song ended Fred looked up and saw that they were under the mistletoe and smiled at her and jerked his head at it, "It is a tradition you know."

Sam felt the butterflies swarm in her stomach, but she tilted her head and rose to meet him. Freddie was ready to kiss her chastely on the lips, but when their lips touched Sam pulled him into a deeper kiss. She used her tongue to ask for entry into his and without thinking, her let her in. They kissed like that for several seconds before Fred pulled away gently, "Sam, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," he looked shocked and consumed with guilt, "I can't, I mean… well… Noel is my fiancé and I shouldn't have done that to her or you. I guess some old feeling don't go away after all. I better go to bed, I need to talk to Noel and tell her what happened."

"Freddie, why tell her anything?" Sam finally snapped out of her daydream, "You didn't kiss me, I kissed you and it was because I felt so low about Dean and all I just needed to know that I was still desirable, that's all and I'm so sorry for doing that," Sam lied and it was the biggest lie she had ever told in her life, "We'll both tell her, you didn't do anything wrong, I just didn't use my head."

"God the two of you are like old women," Noel smiled at them, "I'm sorry, I wasn't eavesdropping really, I just needed to go to the bathroom and you were both so sweet. I'm not mad nor do I think you two cheated, I saw two great friends and one of them was teaching the other that she always had better options than she gave herself credit for. Besides, I trust you both, Fred isn't a cheater and you're my sister Sam and I know you would never do that to me, so relax both of you.

They smiled at each other and then hugged. Fred and Noel went into their room and Sam went to hers. She closed the door and fell back on the bed, "FUCK ME!" she said out loud to no one.

.

They woke up Christmas morning and met around the Christmas tree. Fred passed out the gifts and they set down to open them. Sam got the complete "Holiday Massacre" blu-ray set. All fifteen movies un-cut with extra footage. Some really great perfume and a set of twenty cd's of all her favorite bands.

Noel got some lacey teddies, perfume and a diamond necklace.

Fred got the latest "Ultimate Edition Galaxy Wars Saga" blu-ray set, cologne, and editing software.

Noel then produced a large, heavy box that was addressed to her three roommates, "I hope you don't mind, but with some of your friends in your software classes I had every iCarly episode transferred to blu-ray so we could all watch them together on a large screen which will be delivered on the twenty-ninth."

Both Sam and Fred said at the same time, "That was so sweet of you."

Fred got up and cocked his head to the side and walked to the tree. He pulled tow smaller boxes from underneath the tree and began looking around the rest of the tree. He finally turned back to them and shook his head, "There's one to each of you from Santa, but the cheep SOB didn't leave one for me."

"Santa seems to be using your wrapping paper," Noel grinned at him.

"I know, yet he left me nothing, and I thought he was nice," Fred smiled, "Sam open yours first."

Sam opened the present and saw that it was a velvet box. She looked up at him and turned a little white. She opened the box and saw that it held a pendent necklace with a small diamond in the middle. She opened the pendent and found a picture of the iCarly gang in it. From the look of the picture they must have been about fourteen, and they were all smiles.

"If I know Santa you should check out the back," Freddie told her.

She looked and it was inscribed with the words, "Families aren't just made by blood, Princess Puckett."

Sam felt a catch in her throat and asked Freddie to help her put it on, which he did. She looked up and kissed his cheek and fought back tears as she said softly, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Ok Noel, your turn," Fred said as he took the present out of her hands and opened it for her. It was a velvet box that as he went to one knee, he opened and showed her a very beautiful diamond ring, "I told you when I could I'd replace the small one a better one, so would you still marry me or what?"

"Yes, with all my heart, forever yes," she grinned as she cried, "It's beautiful, but I'll never take the other one off."

They kissed very deeply and then the three of them went and made breakfast.

.

.

I hope you enjoyed and that this chapter was good. I hope you got a better sense of Noel's personality and thoughts. As always, let me know.


	9. Crash and Burn

Crash and Burn

They had left a good hour and a half early for the airport, Fred hated being late if it could be helped, and it was a good thing they had. Washington State was just beginning to feel the effects of what the weather service said was going to be the "snow storm of the century", and it was already causing problems with everything from traffic to delayed or canceled flights. Fred, Noel, and Sam walked through the terminal till they saw the sign that a well dressed man was carrying that bore Fred's name.

"I'm Fred Benson," he told the man

"Welcome Mr. Benson, my name is George Flat and Mr. White sent me to make sure that everything went smoothly for you today. The Pear Corporation jet is standing by and we are ready to leave in ten minutes, so if you'll give me your luggage we'll get it on board and give a few minute to say goodbye and we'll get you to L.A. by two this afternoon."

"Thank you sir," Fred said, "I'll be right with you," Fred turned to Noel and took her hands and looked her in the eyes, I'll be back in two days Mon amour, God I'm going to miss you while I'm gone," He leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss and wrapped her in a huge bear hug.

He turned to Sam and held his arms out for her to give him a hug, "Take good care of my woman while I'm gone," he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her and picked her up and whispered in her ear, "Take good care of you princess."

Noel looked at the two of them and for the first time since she had been living with Fred, she found herself very shaken at how close Sam and Fred were. She had spent the last few days after the kiss watching them and had noticed the little unspoken, well, thing that went on between them. She knew that Fred wasn't aware of it and she could tell that Sam was in denial of it, but it was defiantly there. She loved Fred with all her heart and knew he loved her, but she wondered if he knew about how Sam felt about him and if he could feel the same for her somewhere deep down, some place that he didn't even know about. She had made her mind up to talk to Sam while Fred was away and get some answers, for her own piece of mind.

Fred then turned around and joined Mr. Flat at the gate and the two of them walked out and boarded the private Learjet of Pear Internationals. Once they sat down the pilot announced that they had been cleared for takeoff and they pulled away from the gate and disappeared into the blowing snow.

By the time Sam and Noel returned to the apartment Carly had arrived back from Christmas with Spencer and her dad. She knew within a few minutes that something was different. 'Oh shit, what happened while I was gone,' she thought, 'they still seem friendly, but there's more tension in the air than there was before. Damn it Sam, I told you this was not a good idea. What the hell did you do or say?'

"How about we go to the bar tonight and just have a girls night out?" Noel smiled at them, "We haven't done anything with just the three of us in quite a while."

"Sounds great Noel," Sam smiled, "We could be the "Three Musketeers" for the night."

"Alright It's a date," Noel grinned, "but right now I'm going back to bed for a while, I'm exhausted."

After Noel closed the door to their room, Carly got up from the couch and went into the kitchen where Sam was making a bacon double bacon sandwich, "Sam, what the hell happened while I was gone?" Carly asked, her hands on her hips, "I left with everything fine, weird, but fine. As soon as the two of you walked in the door I felt this little undercurrent of tension in the air. Not a huge amount, but it was nonexistent before and now it's here."

"Carly," Sam started, "nothing happened. Maybe your radar is out of whack or something."

"Please Sam," Carly tapped her foot on the kitchen floor, "My radar is fine and you know it. What the hell happened?"

"Carly, nothing really serious happened," Sam looked at the ground, "Dean showed up at the Christmas party and went by the "cheating bastards how to win your ex back" playbook play by play. He really thought I'd go back to him, anyway, Noel and Freddie helped me get rid of him by kicking him out. The party pretty much died after that. Dean said some truly nasty things about me and I was in a deep funk about it, so Noel said Freddie should talk to me and left us alone."

"Oh shit Sam, tell me you didn't sleep with him," Carly was now truly upset.

"No, God Carly you know better than that," Sam got a little upset with her friend over the thought, "we just talked and then he wanted me to dance with him, you know to help me chill out. After the song was over he pointed up and I saw mistletoe above our heads and he said it was a tradition, so he leaned down to place a chaste kiss on my lips and I snapped and gave him a long, deep kiss. Freddie pulled out of the kiss and said he couldn't do that to Noel, at which time she said something to us and we turned to see her in the doorway. She was very cool about the whole thing and said she knew I was just hurting and it was just one friend helping out another."

"She may have said that to the two of you, but she looks anything but ok with it in real life," Carly whisper shouted at Sam, "this is exactly what I was afraid was, I told you nothing good would come of this."

"Shit Carly," Sam's eyes lit up with a fire, "You're not the goddamn housemother around here, everything isn't up for you to make the call on. Yes, I'm in love with Freddie and I want him so badly that if being the other woman is the only way I can have him, then I'll take it. Only Freddie isn't that kind of guy, so I basically got a snowballs chance in hell of being with him and I don't care anymore Carly. I am so far gone that if staring at him from a far is all I can get, I'll take it. Noel and I both know that Freddie loves her and that is all that really matters. So quit being all judgmental and just try being my friend for once instead of my keeper!"

"Well excuse me for wanting to try and protect you from all of this," Carly whisper shouted at Sam, "I'm being your friend when I tell you to get off this ride before it kills you. There are other guys out there and not all of them are going to be like Dean or the others. Get out there and find them and get on with your life Sam, Fred isn't going to happen!"

"I just don't care anymore Carly," Sam looked at her and shook her head, "I'll take nothing rather than not having Freddie. So just get off my back!"

Noel heard the whole conversion from her room. She wasn't trying to listen, but her two friends hadn't been nearly as quiet as they should have been. Noel had never really known till now just how deep Sam's feelings for Fred had gone, but she found herself shocked at them. Fred had no idea that Sam felt that way she was sure, but now she began to wonder if he had known, would he have acted on them, would they have gotten together if he had or would he have gone after Sam instead. She knew Fred would stay with her no matter what, but would he ever be all hers or would there be a small part of him that would be Sam's?

She felt the wave of nausea sweep over her and had to run to the bathroom, almost not making it, as she lost the contents of her stomach. For the first and only time since she had met him, Noel wondered if Fred would be hers forever. She felt the walls close in on her and her heart began to hurt. She felt faint and the room began to spin around her. 'Oh dear God,' She thought, 'what will I do without him, how do I survive if I lose him?'

The pain in her stomach intensified and she threw-up again, only this time blood came out and she passed out. As she fell back her head struck the counter with a loud thud and she then sank to the floor.

Sam and Carly heard the noise and rushed to the bathroom. After forcing the door open, Noel's body was blocking the way, they were shocked at scene.

"Carly call 9-1-1 now," Sam snapped, "we don't need to move her till they get here. Shit this is really bad, it looks like she threw up blood before she passed out, Christ, hold on Noel we got people on the way."

.

.

Fred stepped off the jet and was greeted by an eighty-one degrees temperature and bright sunlight. Mr. Flat led him into the corporate hanger and straight to the limousine that they had waiting for him and they got in.

"Mr. White is going to meet us for lunch at Gino's, and he is very interested in talking to you about your ideas for the future."

"Wow, I feel like a superstar with all this treatment," Fred laughed at Mr. Flat.

'Well you are a superstar Mr. Benson," Flat smiled at him, "Mr. White has never met with a person who was being hired for a temp position, ever. So you should feel special."

Fred raised his eyebrows and turned to look out the window. He was surprised that his life had taken such a huge turn in the last year. He had thought that when his mother died that he was going to be lost in the grand scheme of life and then he had gotten to go to England, met Noel, and was now about to meet the man who ran the company he hoped to work for, he was truly blessed and he felt that for once he was on top of the world.

Gino's was one of the hottest restaurants in L.A. at the moment, it had a three month waiting list just to get a lunch table, unless of course you owned the most popular computer company on the planet, then you could get a seat anytime you wanted. No one wanted to tell Stan White no, it just wasn't something you did. For the most part Stan White didn't use this power very much, he really was a simple man, but he had been beyond impressed by Fred Benson. The man was driven and very talented, hell the mood app alone would rate the lunch, but he like the boy's heart. He had stood his ground for his team on the app and made sure that they all got a cut of the money, even though it was obvious that the true hardware and code design were his alone and the others had just helped with minor things. It proved to him that this boy would always look out for the good of all and not just himself and that was the kind of man he needed for his company and the kind of man he wanted to meet in person. The fact that he was the tech producer on the iCarly webcast, his kid's favorite when they were young, meant that to not meet face to face would put in below the doghouse in their eyes.

White saw the Limo pull up and Flat and Benson get out. Benson was taller than White had thought he would be. He looked like a good kid, someone, if she were older, he would be happy for his daughter to date.

The two men walked into the restaurant and spoke to the maitre'd who nodded and escorted them back to the Table Mr. White was seated at. White stood as they approached and extended his hand, "You must be Fred Benson," White took Fred's hand and shook it. He was impressed with Benson's firm handshake, a man who had a firm handshake was a confident man who had nothing to hide, and it set the tone for the whole meeting.

"Yes sir and you must be Mr. White?" Fred asked in a very friendly tone.

"You hear that Barnes, "yes sir" and "Mr. White" you just don't get that from kids today," White smiled at the other man at the table, John Barnes, the head of Human Resources for Pear International, and Stan White's best friend since college, "Damn it, I like you already Benson. I hope my man Flat here has been taking good care of you?"

"Oh yes sir, he's been great," Fred blushed at the greeting that Stan White had given him.

"I like that, but you have got to start calling me Stan or I'm going to start feeling old son," White smiled and waved his hand for Fred to sit down, "what can I order you to drink son?"

"I'd like sweet tea sir… Stan," Fred caught himself and smiled at White.

"You're learning son, you're learning," White smiled at him.

The lunch was ordered and they began to talk business. "So young man, you created the mood app and made sure that everyone who helped got a cut of the money that we offered you, insisted on it actually, why?" White asked him as he looked him straight in the eyes, "I've looked over the program and the codes and it's clear that you wrote it yourself and any help they would have given you was minimal at best, but you make sure everyone gets a cut."

"Well we all worked on it together and what they did let me do my work, so everyone did an equal part in It," Fred answered the question as if it was a simple obvious thing to do.

"There, that right there is why we are meeting today," White said to him as he pointed and looked at Flat and Barnes, "This man gets it. He knows what it takes to make dreams happen. You take care of the whole and then it takes care of you. Benson, I didn't start this company by myself. John here and Sara, the head of Marketing and Research, who we will meet after lunch, And Max Carter my vice-president, we all started out working in my dad's garage during the weekends and summers with the idea of making the best and most cost efficient personal computer possible. Son, I could write code like nobody's business, but I couldn't get all the things I needed to build a computer, but Max could scrounge up anything I needed, John could build anything I needed built, and Sara could sell heaters to people in hell, so between the four of us we started this company with little more than a dream. I have kept those friends close and I learned to spread the wealth out to all the people who work for us. If you keep everyone working for you happy and they will do amazing things for you. I look for people who know that instinctively, something that is hard to find in this "what's in it's for me" world, but I found that in you. The reason we are meeting today is because I want you to be part of our team. We don't need another intern son, we want to offer you a job in Research and Development as our new vice-president, you still have to finish college, but we have a spot for you during the summer if you want it. We'll start you out at fifty-six thousand a year for now, with a raise after you graduate from college. I have a feeling that the mood app is just the start of your genius, and I want you to share your mind with us, how does that sound to you?"

"I'd love to come to work with you sir, this has been my dream for a very long time," Fred smiled at him.

"That's what I wanted to hear," White's face lit up, "after lunch you can meet the rest of the team and we'll talk over how this is going to work. I want you to join us tonight at a fundraiser for C.A.R.E. S., Computers Are Really Essential to Schools, our charity to raise funds to make sure every school has enough computers for all their students. It's a causal affair, a bowling tournament, and I think it's time you get use to being seen as an up and comer in the company, does that sound ok to you?"

"I'd be honored to join you," Fred beamed at the table.

"Good. Then tomorrow we'll all fly back to Seattle to show you around the office there and get you acquainted with the staff since that's going to be where you're going to work from now on," White loved the way this kid wasn't afraid to jump in. This kid would be running the company in less than ten years was all that kept racing through White's mind.

The rest of the day was fantastic. Fred met the "Group" as they were called and the four of them accepted him into their fold as one of their own. The charity event was a huge success and he had a ball. Stan had caught him off guard when he pulled him in front of the cameras and news crews on the red carpet and told the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen I'd like to introduce you to Pear's new vice-president of Research and Development, Fred Benson. Benson here and his team invented the newest Pear app which will hit the market next week, Mood App, and we are looking forward to a whole new range of products from this young man's inventive mind over the years to come."

Fred was stunned and then scared as microphones were thrust in his face and the questions began to fly in from all directions. Stan saved him by dragging him on into the alley and laughed at the wide eyed look on his face, "Better get used to that son."

Fred had a ball, he even won a round and got a trip for two for a six day seven night stay in Hawaii. He slipped out at one point and called Noel's cel phone. After about three rings she picked up, "Hey Mon amour how are you doing?" he asked her is a very seductive tone.

"I'm doing fine amant, how's the trip going?" she asked him as the doctor walked into the room. She held up a finger at him and asked for a minute.

"You girls need to turn on CNN at ten and see for yourselves," he told her, "Listen I can't talk long, but we have a lot to talk about when I get back. We leave at nine in the morning and will be back in Seattle by lunch, which you are invited to, and then I have a meeting at the Pear offices there in Seattle. I didn't get the summer intern job that I thought I was going to get, but just watch the news and you'll all see."

"Darling, I've got something important that has come up and I can't meet you at the airport, I'm sorry, but I'll explain after you get back. Sam and Carly are going to meet you is that ok?" Noel wasn't ready to tell him about what had happened and she wasn't sure, but from the look on the doctor's face, she didn't think she would feel like talking about it tomorrow.

"Sure babe," Fred began to notice that she really sounded strange, "Is everything ok?"

"Things are fine Mon amour, I'll fill you in after you get home," She forced her voice to sound giddy and happy.

"Ok babe Je t'aime de tout mon cœur, sommeil serré et goodnight," he almost sang to her, his voice was so happy.

"Vous aurez toujours mon cœur, et j'aime vous plus que c'est moi la vie," she whispered to him, "goodnight."

She hung up the phone and looked at the doctor, "I'm pretty sure I know why you're here and what you want to tell me. You're an Oncologist aren't you?" she never took her eyes off his.

"Yes Ms. Channel, I am, do I take it you have expected this? My name is Dr. Jim Wilson, by the way."

"Yes Dr. Wilson, I've had this problem before and had hoped it wouldn't return, but since you're here, I guess that I'm not going to get my wish, am I?" she seemed resigned to the talk and even smiled sadly at the doctor.

"I take it then you know what I'm going to tell you then?" the doctor looked down at his shoes; this was the worst part of the job.

"I'm afraid so," Noel looked at him, "what kind of time frame are we looking at?"

.

Sam knocked on the door and She and Carly walked in to find a doctor walking out and Noel sitting up in the bed looking like she was in pretty good shape, maybe a little sad, but otherwise ok. Sam thought to herself that the blood must have meant that Noel had been pregnant and had lost the baby. It explained the sad look and the rest.

"Everything ok kid?" Sam smiled at her.

"Nothing a week in Hawaii wouldn't cure I guess?" Noel laughed and then stopped as she grabbed her head, "still got a hell of a headache."

"I talked to Fred and he said that we need to watch CNN at ten and it would explain a lot of things, he didn't get the intern job like he thought." Noel reached for the remote and turned on the T.V.

"Tonight on the ten o'clock business report Pear Corporation CEO Stan White introduced the world to Pear's new vice-president of Research and Development, twenty-two year old college student Fred Benson at a Pear fundraiser tonight. Little is known about Benson at the moment, other than he and his "team" created a new app for Pear, and that this appointment makes Benson the youngest executive in the Pear Company, which controls a vast part of the world computer and software market."

The three of them screamed and giggled as the story ended. Noel broke into tears of joy, Sam whooped and danced, and Carly just laughed and clapped. When the excitement died down, Noel turned to Sam, "Sam, could I speak to you alone for a few minutes, before they have you guys leave?"

"Sure honey," Sam shot Carly a look and walked toward the bed.

"I'm sorry Carly do you mind?" Noel looked at her friend and smiled sadly, "I hope you don't think me rude, but this is something I need to talk to Sam alone about."

"Not at all honey," Carly smiled back. 'Shit, it's about to hit the fan,' she thought, "I'll just wait outside."

After the door closed Noel grinned at Sam and asked her in a very nonchalant tone, "So tell me Sam, and please know I'm not mad or unset with you, just curious, how long have you been in love with Fred?"

Sam's face went white and then bloomed bright red, but she answered truthfully, "I don't really know. The first time that I acknowledged it to myself was just before he left for England and met you," Sam felt a release inside herself at saying it out loud to Noel, "but I guess really I've loved him since kindergarten, I just didn't know it. He's been a constant in my life, I made his existence a living hell for years, but he took it and even gave it back to me, and somewhere along the way, every time I needed him he would always be there for me. No questions, no "I told you so's", he would just be there and take of whatever needed taken care of, and I took him for granted. Noel, he has no idea how I feel, he loves you, even if he knew how I felt, he loves you and would never leave you and you have my word I won't do anything to mess you guys up, but I need his friendship in my life and hope that you're ok with that."

"Sam, I have a tumor the size of a pineapple in my stomach," Noel blurted out, "Fred never told any of you because I asked him not to, but as a child I had cancer and they thought I might die. I got treatment and after a year I went into remission, which is where I have been till recently. I thought I might be pregnant at first, I even bought a test, but I think I knew it wasn't that. It would kill me if they tried to remove it, and they can't treat me with it still there. If I'm lucky, I have two years left, max. I most likely have a year to a year and a half."

Sam stood with her mouth wide open and silent, she had no idea what to say, or if she should say anything at all. She found herself wanting to hug her new found sister and felt her eyes begin to tear up, "Oh Christ Noel, can't they do anything at all?"

"No, I'm afraid that we're well past that point," Noel smiled sadly at Sam and held out her arms to hug Sam, "I need you to do me a favor Sam, Fred is the best thing that has EVER come my way, and I have seen how he handles death, and I know what's going to happen to me. He'll stay by my side till the end, and if the truth be known, I'm going to need that. Sam after I'm gone and he's had a reasonable amount of time to grieve, no more than four months, I need you to keep him from sliding back into his shell and closing himself off from the world. I want you to be there for him and love him Sam. I know how much you love him and that he loves you also, so keep him by your side and please never let him end up alone. I think the two of you will make a fine couple and will have a great life together, can you do that for me please? I need to know that he won't be alone and that he will be loved, please it will make the time I have left better knowing he'll have you to love him after I go."

Sam began to cry, something she never did in front of people, but she cried as she hugged Noel and spoke to her, "God you don't know how many times I've wanted to hate you since I saw you kiss Freddie at that airport, but I never could, you were just to sweet and you loved him so much, I just couldn't hate you and then I fell in love with you and the way that you made him feel. I'll do what you want me to, but I don't think he'll ever love me as much as her loves you."

"You're right sister," Noel stroked Sam's hair, "he'll come to love you more."

.

.

The ride home had been a quiet one for Sam and Carly. Sam had asked Carly to just not ask about what she and Noel talked about right now, but told her they would talk after Freddie got home, and even though she didn't like it, Carly had agreed. Sam slept very little that night. She was still in amazement at the strength that Noel had shown her and at how trivial her depression over Freddie seemed now.

Freddie called at nine to let them know that they were leaving the airport and would arrive in Seattle at eleven-thirty local time. The snow storm over Washington and Oregon had now become the worst winter storm in over fifty years. The girls went to see Noel and found out she would be released later that day and agreed to say nothing to Freddie until she called for them to come pick her up. They left at ten-thirty to get to the airport in time to see Freddie. As they waited the girls talked to the woman waiting for the plane also. She was Robin Welker, Sara Roberts's domestic partner, and the two had been together for almost twenty years. They all three hit it off and were having such a good time that they didn't notice that flight after flight was being canceled because of the weather.

.

.

Fred knew something was wrong the moment the lights started to flicker in the cabin. The hostess had asked them to strap in and the pilot had informed them that there was a small problem. Mr. White, John Barnes, Sara Roberts, and Max Carter as well as Fred had all strapped in and sat in silence. Fred smelled the smoke first and then caught a flash of light as the rear of the cabin began to burn around the middle of the wall. Alarms began to sound and the power went out altogether. The plane went into a steep descent. As he saw his life pass by, Fred was surprised at how even as he thought of Noel, Sam dominated the majority of his life. He never found time to cry or scream before impact.

.

.

"Would persons waiting for the Pear corporation flight please report to the first class lounge," the intercom announced threw the terminal.

Sam, Carly, and Robin all made their way to the lounge laughing that the plane must hve returned to L.A. and they were letting them know. As soon as the trio entered the lounge Sam knew something bad was wrong. A beautiful blonde woman came up to them and began to talk, "My name is Macy Bennett and I'm from the National Transportation Safety Board, may I ask who you are and what your relationship to the passengers on this flight are?"

"I'm Robin Welker and Sara Roberts is my domestic partner," Robin answered, all traces of humor gone.

"I'm Sam Puckett and this is Carly Shay and we are the roommates of Fred Benson, what's this all about?" Sam was now very scared and felt herself getting a little weak.

"I'm Sorry to inform you but the Pear corporation jet went down somewhere on or around Mount Hood in Oregon thirty minutes ago. We don't know yet about the cause or if there are any survivors. We wanted to let you know before the news outlets got a hold of it," Macy told them in the practiced manner of someone who had done this many times before.

Sam felt her legs give way and fell to the floor. Tears rolled from her eyes and she tried to speak or to breath but nothing came out. She couldn't think or do anything and she felt the world close in on her. 'Please don't take Freddie God, I can't live without him, PLEASE, PLEASE GOD WE NEED HIM!' were her last thoughts before she passed out.

.

.

I'm so sorry this has taken so long to post. My health has taken a turn for the worse and I'm really having a hard time finding the energy to do even small things. I have one more treatment to go, but if I don't get better, I won't be able to survive it. I'm not scared about what may happen, I just want to finish all the stories that I have in my head. All the names that are used in this chapter are of good friends and people I've met in the hospital. Carol, who I wrote a one shot for, sadly passed away on Monday. She was beautiful, strong and very funny. She is very missed. In answer to some questions, Noel was real and I loved her very much. Had she lived, I planed to marry her one day. That was not to be. Macy has become a good friend here and has helped me very much. Noel would have like her.

Enough sad shit, I know this was a long one but It is the lynch pen of the story and everything else will spin off of this. I promise to try to update faster like I used to. Thanks for sticking with me on this journey and please let me know what you think of the story. Let me know!


	10. Far Away

Far away

When Sam regained consciousness her first thought was this was just some horrible nightmare and that it would go away.

"Sam, Sam," Carly spoke to her through tears, "are you alright?"

Sam sat up on the couch that they had taken her to. She looked around the room and then it sank in once again, Freddie's plane had gone down. She began to weep again buried her head on Carly's shoulder, "I c…cc…can't take it Carly," Sam said between sobs, "I can't stand the thought of Freddie not being in my life anymore. He has to be alive, please let him be alive," Sam's last words came out as the more of a plea from a small girl instead of a woman.

"I know Sam," Carly wiped tears from her own eyes, "We need to get to the hospital and tell Noel before she sees it on the news."

Carly offered Sam her hand and helped her get up off the couch. Carly had never noticed just how small and delicate Sam really was, till this minute. Her eyes were red rimmed and there was no sign of the fire that always seemed to burn in them. Sam looked like a ghost of her former self. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she held her head down making eye contact with no one.

The wind and snow wore both of them down by the time they reached the car and they sat in silence. Carly put the keys in the ignition and was about to turn the engine over, when Sam's hand touched hers and she stopped and looked at her friend.

"We need to be real careful about telling her Carly," Sam's voice sounded like it was coming from the bottom of her soul and her eyes were dull and vacant, "She told me last night, she has cancer, a tumor the size of a pineapple and they can't remove it without killing her and she's beyond treatment. That's what she wanted to talk about last night, that and she wanted me to give Freddie time to grieve for her and then go after him. She knows, has known, that I love him. She wanted me to make sure he wasn't alone…," the rest trailed off into another round of sobs.

Carly felt a new wave of tears flow down her own cheeks as she placed her hands on her best friends back, this wasn't how their lives were suppose to go. This wasn't what was supposed to happen to them, they were going to be immune to all the horrible things that happen in the world, which was just how she had thought it would go. No one died young of cancer or of plane crashes. Broken hearts were fixed because the true love of your life would fall into your life, pain was just cuts and bruises, and everything would always workout, which was just how it was supposed to be. None of this fit the plan that Carly had seen as how her life would go. They would find a cure for cancer, Freddie would be fine and rescued by Bigfoot, Noel long lost brother would appear out of nowhere and Sam would fall in love with him, and Carly would finally meet and fall in love with Nathan Kress that was how it was to be. Not this messy people dying, people unhappy bullshit!

Carly began to slam her hands on the steering wheel and screaming at the top of her lungs, "Goddamn, son of a bitching motherfuckers, this isn't right, we brought laughter to the world, we made it a better place, and this is what we get?" Carly was now kicking and hitting anything within her reach, her left hand shattered the driver's window breaking her hand and cutting it deeply at the same time, "We are iCarly Goddamnit, we have fun and laugh and no one ever gets hurt and everyone laughs and smiles at the end, we're supposed to lead a charmed fucking life, where we all get at least part of what we want and grow old together as friends! I can not; I will not accept this shit as right. Freddie had better be alive or I swear to God I'll kill him! Noel had better be cured by a great looking doctor that Freddie likes so that when Noel falls for him, Freddie doesn't get hurt and then he turns to you and you two have six point eight kids, who all look like him and act like you, and I better meet a guy who has all his shit together and has a huge cock, and then we have eight point six kids, and we raise them together and they marry one day! I refuse to accept this load of shit that fate has dumped on us Sam! I love Freddie Benson like he was my brother and Goddamnit I need him to lean on, I need to tell him what a bitch I've been to him and how deeply sorry I am that I let him down, I need to tell him that my life would be so fucking dark that I couldn't face it if he wasn't there to help me and let me lean on him! Sam I never told him I'm sorry or that he means the world to me. What if he died not known that he has a special place in my heart and that he would always be my other brother? FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK MMMMMMEEEEE FFFFRRREEDDDDDDIEEEE PPPPLLLEEEESSSSE DON'T BE DEAD," Carly screamed till her voice went out and not even a whisper of sound could be heard, and still she screamed. She then slumped behind the wheel and let the tears flow.

Carly's outburst pulled Sam out of her internal exile and back to the present. In the entire time Sam had known Carly, she had never seen her lose it till now. Sam got out and went around to the driver's door and opened it. She could tell that Carly's left hand, besides being cut, was broken badly. She got her out and into the passenger side and then sat down in the driver's seat, closed the door (glass falling in on her) and started the car and pulled out. The missing window caused problems driving, snow blew into the window and made it harder to see and so cold that the heater wouldn't help keep them warm. Sam got Carly to the emergency room and as soon as she dropped her off ran to Noel's room. As she opened the door she saw her face and heard a familiar voice on the T.V. that was on, "This is a repeat of the N.T.S.B. press conference just ten minutes ago," the picture switched to the beautiful blonde woman that had talked to Sam and Carly earlier, "My name is Macy Bennett and I'm the agent in charge of this matter, at ten-forty local time this morning a Pear Corporation private jet reported problems with the electrical system, seven minutes later the pilot reported that a fire had broken out in the cabin, after that all contact with the crew by radio was lost. The jet then began a steep and rapid descent from twenty-seven thousand feet till it was lost somewhere near or over Mount Hood in Oregon. We had had no further word from the jet since that time. I'll take a very few questions at this time."

She pointed to a reporter near the back of the mob, "Yes sir, you have a question?"

"So you do believe that the plane has crashed?" he asked.

She looked disgusted at the question, "Yes," she pointed to a woman near the front, "You have a real question?"

"Do you have a list of the passengers for us yet?" the woman asked.

"Yes we do," Macy brought a sheet up in front of her, "Pilot Dan Tanner, Co-pilot Charles Damon, Hostess Karen Ladd, Pear C.E.O. Stan White, Pear Vice-president Max Carter, Pear president of Marketing and Research Sara Roberts, Pear head of Human Resources John Barnes, and Pear Vice-president of Research and Development Fred Benson," Macy lowered the sheet of paper, "We will have all this in the press release for you, You?"

A woman at the rear spoke, "Will the weather factor into the search and rescue?" she asked

"Yes, the weather service has told us that the current storm should pass by in the next twelve hours, we won't be able to send out parties till then. Last question, you sir."

The man in the third row spoke up, "Do you expect to find any survivors in the wreckage?"

Macy's eyes flashed fire as she answered him, "That has got to be the dumbest fucking question I've ever been asked. Is this your first assignment or something? I'm not going to answer that silly question," she then stormed off the riser and walked back toward the meeting rooms that were now serving as offices for her and her group.

"Jesus Noel, we wanted to tell you before you found out this way," Sam said low as she watched Noel's brave front begin to crack, "I'm so sorry honey."

Noel seemed smaller to Sam and for the first time really looked ill. Sam walked over to her and wrapped her arms around Noel's shoulders as Noel began to talk, "How can he be gone Sam?" she asked sounding like a hurt child, "How could the best thing that has ever happened to me be taken away from me just when I needed him the most, and before you two got a chance? It isn't fair to do that to us, why would God do that to the two of us? I'm a dime a dozen in this world, but Fred was one of a kind. This world needs more of him not less." Noel and Sam both gave into the sobs and held each other as they did so.

.

Fred staggered back with three more large logs of wood to the lean-to that he had built with a small piece of the wing and tail section. He looked at the now twenty pieces of wood he had brought to the small shelter and knew they needed more, but the broken ribs, two of which poked through his right side, told him he had made his last trip.

He had been thrown, seat and all, on impact and had slammed into the right side bulkhead. He heard the ribs snap and felt his right arm give. He had felt a sharp pain in his chest and found breathing very painful and blood in his mouth when he coughed. He managed to get out of the seatbelt and felt the plane shake and then noticed water coming in. He checked on the others and found that Stan was the only other survivor of the crash. Stan's legs were horrible crushed under the heavy computer table and he was trapped. He kept telling Fred to leave him and get out but Fred told him to shut the fuck up, and through the pain managed to move the table and drag Stan out onto what was a frozen lake that was melting from the heat of the crash and the weight of the plane. He dragged him off the ice and found a piece of the tail section and a small piece of the wing and made the shelter. He then returned to the plane and as it sank grabbed the emergency kit and as many blankets as he could find and took them back to the shelter as the plane slipped beneath the ice. He had then gathered the wood till he plopped down on one of the blankets and started a fire with the matches and paper from the kit.

"I'll have to try later to get more wood," Fred groaned as he covered himself with a blanket and tried to warm up.

"We got enough for at least twelve hours, after that I don't think either one of us will be alive to care," Stan told him, "Till the storm blows over, they won't be able to send help at all. Any food in that kit?"

Fred laughed once before his ribs exploded in pain and his chest did also, "You remind me of Sam, what with the looking for food no matter what's going on around her."

"Listen, it's none of my business, but if I don't ask my kids will kill me, why aren't you and Sam an item?" Stan asked him as he huddled into his blanket.

"You'd have to ask her, she seemed to think of me as a friend only," Fred smiled at him as he began to shiver, "I've spent most of my life cleaning up after boyfriends for her and Carly both."

"Friend zone huh," Stan laughed, "I spent my high school years in the "geek" zone, then when you hit your forties and have more money than God, you become a stud that every girl "really" wanted but "was to afraid to talk to" then. The twentieth reunion I finally got to tell this one girl, who treated me like shit, what I had always wanted to tell her when she came on to me, "I know I'm a geek and no stud, but I fucked Anna Nicole Smith twice, and after her, you look like Jason from "Friday the 13th", so I'll pass."

Fred smiled and did his best not to laugh, "We're still close, so it's not like that, I just got overlooked. I've got a great fiancé now, I met her in England," Fred began to cough and as he did blood came out of his mouth and he yelled with pain.

"Shit Fred, take it easy son," Stan urged him, "Fuck Fred, those bubbles mean that you've collapsed a lung. This is very, very, bad!"

Stan began to crawl closer to Fred and turned him over, face down, and began to softly pat on his back, "I got you son, can't let you choke on the blood," Stan ran one hand to Fred's head, "Christ boy, you're burning up.

Stan pulled his blankets over and wrapped them around the both of them and held Fred as the coughing subsided and he fell silent and began to shake uncontrollably. The wind howled outside the shelter and Stan began to wonder if surviving the crash was such a lucky thing after all.

.

.

Sam awoke the next morning in an awkward position in what they said was an easy chair, but felt more like a medieval torture device, and found herself with a crick in her back. She finally was able to stand and she looked at Noel. She looked so beaten down and tired that Sam would have cried if she had any tears left. She looked over at Carly in the other chair in the room and knew she had slept a little better because of the pain pills they gave her for her shattered left hand. Besides the breaks it had taken ten stitches to fix the gash in her hand. They had told her she may have to have surgery later to fix her hand if it didn't heal right. Sam stretched and went to the bathroom. After using the toilet Sam washed her hands and then splashed water in her face before she stepped back into the room. She felt a vibration in her pocket and pulled her phone out and answered even though it show up as "unknown caller" because it might be news about Freddie, "Hello?"

"Hello Sam, this is Mike Kaiser, you know from "The Black Hole", Fred's friend," Mike reminded her, " and I'm so sorry to hear about Fred, and want invite you and Carly, and Noel to the gym tonight for a candle light vigil for Fred. We'll sing some songs have a prayer service, and we'd like it if you girls would come."

"Noel is sick and can't make it but Carly and I would like to come," Sam told him, "Is this your cel phone number that you called me from?"

"Yes it is, why?"

"Can I send you two songs that I'd like you to play for me tonight, and dedicate them to Freddie from me," She asked.

"Sure, I'd be honored to do that for you," he told her, "It starts at six tonight.

"We'll be there," Sam said, "and thank you," she told Mike as she hung up and then texted her song choices to him.

After the news of Fred, the doctor decided to keep Noel a few more days, just in case. The three of them sat in the room in silence, each lost in their own thoughts of Fred. At eleven 'clock Sam went alone to the airport to see what was happening on the search and rescue. She found Macy and asked her, "Any news on the search?"

"Ms. Puckett, I hate to tell you this, but until this storm blows over we can't even send out search parties. I'm not one for blowing smoke up someone's ass so I'm going to be blunt with you, I've investigated thirty-eight crashes and have never found anyone alive at any one of them. If, and that's a big if, someone survived the crash, with this weather and the cold, they couldn't last long. You and your friends need to be prepared for the very real possibility that the next time you see him will be to identify the body."

Sam drove back to the hospital in tears. She didn't hit them with the facts as hard as Macy had her, but she did tell them that the outcome was bleak at best. Sam and Carly left the hospital at about five-thirty and headed to the gym.

They were both shocked to see the huge turnout. It looked like every student at Washington State University had shown up for the event. They were escorted in to the gym and given a candle for the walk to the center of the quad later that night. The Dean took the stage and began to speak,

"We are here tonight to honor a young man who has touched all our lives. From the turn out tonight, I think we can all see that he was a very extraordinary young man, well liked and loved by all that knew him. Right now Dr. Rick Hurst is going to lead us in a prayer."

Dr. Hurst walked to the mic. and began to speak,

"Will you pray with me, Lord we come to you tonight with heavy hearts. We are grieving the loss of our brother Fred Benson. He touched many lives and helped many people during his short stay on this earth and we are missing his presence here and hope that he is at peace in your arms tonight. We can't understand your plan and we trust that this is part of something much bigger than ourselves. Lord we ask you to send your love and strength the families and friends of all the victims of this crash. Help them to see that they are not alone and grant them a measure of peace in this darkest of hours. Be with the searchers as they look for the victims and keep them safe from harm. As always Father we pray in your son's name, Amen."

As Dr. Hurst left the stage Mike and his band walked out. Mike looked somber as he began to speak to the crowd, "My name is Mike and this is my band the Zombies. Fred was a very good friend to me. He never failed to help when I needed it and he never asked anything in return. He played with us sometimes and you could tell that he was having a blast," he looked down and saw Sam and Carly, with tears in their eyes, "Fred was one of those people that could make you feel better just by talking to you. He was something very rare today, a true gentleman, and we should all be thankful for the short time that his life touched ours."

Mike stepped back and turned around to the band for a minute and wiped his eyes. He turned around and spoke again, "Sam Puckett has asked us to play two songs dedicated to Fred's memory from her, so here we go," they began to play a tune and Carly looked at Sam and reached out to pull her closed as Sam laid her head on her shoulder and wept quietly.

This time, This place  
>Misused, Mistakes<br>Too long, Too late  
>Who was I to make you wait<br>Just one chance  
>Just one breath<br>Just in case there's just one left  
>'Cause you know,<br>you know, you know

That I love you  
>I have loved you all along<br>And I miss you  
>Been far away for far too long<br>I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
>and you'll never go<br>Stop breathing if  
>I don't see you anymore<p>

Carly could feel the tears roll down her own face and felt the huge hole open in her heart where Freddie had been.

Sam couldn't feel much of anything but a sense of profound loss and regret. She would never know what they could have been or how far they could have gone together and that was what was killing her a little every second every hour.

On my knees, I'll ask  
>Last chance for one last dance<br>'Cause with you, I'd withstand  
>All of hell to hold your hand<br>I'd give it all  
>I'd give for us<br>Give anything but I won't give up  
>'Cause you know,<br>you know, you know

So far away  
>been far away for far too long<br>So far away  
>been far away for far too long<p>

But you know, you know, you know

I wanted  
>I wanted you to stay<br>'Cause I needed  
>I need to hear you say<br>That I love you  
>I have loved you all along<br>And I forgive you  
>For being away for far too long<br>So keep breathing  
>'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore<br>Believe it  
>Hold on to me and, never let me go<br>Keep breathing  
>'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore<br>Believe it  
>Hold on to me and, never let me go<br>Keep breathing  
>Hold on to me and, never let me go<br>Keep breathing  
>Hold on to me and, never let me go<p>

The crowd stood quietly as the band began to play the second song. Sam leaned heavily on Carly when it started to play and Carly finally understood the true depth of Sam's love and loss of Freddie and her heart ached for her friend.

How do I,  
>Get through the night without you?<br>If I had to live without you,  
>What kind of life would that be?<br>Oh, I  
>I need you in my arms, need you to hold,<br>You're my world, my heart, my soul,  
>If you ever leave,<br>Baby you would take away everything good in my life,

And tell me now  
>How do I live without you?<br>I want to know,  
>How do I breathe without you?<br>If you ever go,  
>How do I ever, ever survive?<br>How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?  
>[ Lyrics from: .comlyrics/l/leann_rimes/how_do_i_ ]  
>Without you,<br>There'd be no sun in my sky,  
>There would be no love in my life,<br>There'd be no world left for me.  
>And I,<br>Baby I don't know what I would do,  
>I'd be lost if I lost you,<br>If you ever leave,  
>Baby you would take away everything real in my life,<p>

And tell me now,  
>How do I live without you?<br>I want to know,  
>How do I breathe without you?<br>If you ever go,  
>How do I ever, ever survive?<br>How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?

Please tell me baby,  
>How do I go on?<p>

If you ever leave,  
>Baby you would take away everything,<br>I need you with me,  
>Baby don't you know that you're everything,<br>Real in my life?

And tell me now,  
>How do I live without you,<br>I want to know,  
>How do I breathe without you?<br>If you ever go,  
>How do I ever, ever survive?<br>How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?

How do I live without you?

How do I live without you baby?

The dean took the stage again and told the group that it was time to walk to the quad. Three thousand people walked in silence and stood in the snow as they all said one final goodbye to Fred Benson.

.

As the dawn broke over the mountains, Stan White woke up and noticed the sky was clear and the snow had stopped. He looked at Fred who was shaking so hard that Stan imagined he could here the broken ribs rattle in his body. He crawled over to the logs and grabbed two more and put them on top of the others in the fire. He then crawled back to Fred and began to check him out again. He still had blood with tiny bubbles in it coming out of his mouth, his right arm was twisted into an awkward position, he had two rib bones sticking out (the cold had probably saved him from bleeding to death), and he was running a very high fever and was in and out of consciousness and probably wouldn't last another night in this cold. The cold water he has waded through to get the emergency kit and blankets that had made him sick.

Fred's eyes snapped open and he began to shout, "The taco truck Carly look out, I'm her bacon. But you love bacon Sam and you just called me bacon, so what does that mean? Mom you got to get better so I can marry Noel and have germ free babies."

"Easy son," Stan took some snow and rubbed it across his forehead to cool him down, "The cavalry should get here soon just hold on. I got you."

Fred seemed to snap out of the delusions and said to Stan, "Listen Stan, you here that? It sounds like a helicopter, help me up I've got to shoot off one of those flares!"

"I here it son," Stan moved enough so that Fred could get up. Fred stood up very shaken and grabbed the flare gun and fell back down again. He then crawled out of the shelter and fired the flare. One minute later a Mountain rescue 'chopper flew over head and sat down as close to the tiny shelter as they could. Fred never saw them land, he had passed out again. After looking them over, the medics loaded both men on the 'chopper and radioed ahead, "This is rescue six, we have two male survivors, one critical condition, we need to get to the closest hospital around which is Glory," the radio then was filled with shouts and the sounds of people rushing to do things and the unmistakable sound a shock machine charging and then the shout of "clear" and then the sounds of relief from the crew.

"He's flatlined on us once, have the whole trauma stand by our ETA to Glory Hospital E.R. is ten minutes."

"Roger that, they are standing by," the dispatchers voice said.

.

Well I did a little better on the post time here. I hope you like the story so far. Still more to go, so thanks for hanging in there with me. As always, let me know what you think.

,


	11. Vital Signs

Vital Signs

The girls were huddled in the apartment together as New Years Eve past by. The doctor had let Noel leave early that morning and the three had made their way back to the apartment. Noel had planted herself in the loveseat that she and Fred had shared most of the nights they had spent in the apartment watching movies. It and the shirt of his that she wore offered her some comfort in that they still held his scent and she felt like he was wrapped around her. Sam and Carly sat in the chairs beside her in tee-shirts that she had given them that Fred had worn, so that all three of them could feel his presents in the room. Sometime around twelve Sam's phone began to ring. She looked at the number and knew it was Macy calling. She looked at the others and picked it up, "Hello?"

"Ms. Puckett, this is Macy Bennett and I have some news. We found the plane. It crashed near a frozen lake and sank. We also found two survivors. They are both male, but at this time we have no names. Both are in bad shape and were unconscious when they arrived at Glory Hospital in the town of Reading, Oregon. We have a helicopter waiting to fly you and your friends there now. We need to try to identify the two men and you three are the closest to the town. It's about a two hour flight, how soon can you be here?" Macy asked.

"We're on our way out the door," Sam said and Macy heard the three women running around before the call was cut off.

Thirty-five minutes later all three joined Macy on an N.T.S.B. 'chopper taking off from the airport.

"I don't want you three to get over excited about this; your Fred may not be one of the survivors, so just take it easy, Ok?" Macy tried to keep them calm.

"You also said that you had never found survivors before, so this is at least a fucking ray of light in the dark that we didn't have before," Sam shouted over the roar of the engine.

The flight seemed to take forever and the women were running out of patience. As soon as they arrived they were whisked away to the hospital. Traffic was a nightmare and the three women almost got out and ran the rest of the way. As soon as the car pulled up the hospital the four women raced in and headed to the I.C.U. ward.

The nurse on duty asked them to sit and the doctor would be right out. Five minutes later a tall dark skinned doctor emerged unit and came and sat down beside them.

"You must be Ms. Bennett," he extended his hand to her, "I'm Dr. Churchill, patient number one appears to be in his mid-to late fifties, patient number two looks to be in his twenties or thirties. I take it you three ladies are here to help us identify patient number two?"

"Yes, we really hope that we can," Noel answered him, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"I need to prepare you, the person you will be shown in very critical condition, so this it may still be hard to identify him, Dr. Churchill looked at Sam, Carly, and Noel, "If this Fred Benson, we will all sit down and discuss his situation. I'll take you into an observation room and let you see him, but at this time you can't enter his room. If you're ready I can take you in now."

They nodded yes and as Macy sat outside, they were taken into the observation room and the curtain was opened. The three of them gasped at once and began to cry and hug.

"I trust from your reaction that this is Fred Benson then?" the doctor asked.

"Yes, that's him," Noel smiled through the tears of joy.

"Let's step back into the waiting room and talk," he motioned them out of the room.

Macy knew before they said a word that it was Fred, "Ladies I'm glad this worked out for you, she told them, "I have a crash site to visit and I'm going to leave you here for now."

The trio gave her hugs and thanks and she left. They sat down with the doctor and listened as he began to talk, "Mr. Benson has three separate skull fractures, but we got lucky in that the cold helped keep his brain from swelling. His right arm is broken in four places and will need surgery later to put pins in. The real problems are that he has six broken ribs, two of which cut threw his right side and are visible. Once again the cold was a friend because if it had been warm he would have bled to death. Another rib punctured his right lung collapsing it. His spleen has ruptured and he has internal bleeding. All of this is exacerbated by the fact that he has developed pneumonia, which is causing a strain on his heart. It also keeps us from operating on him, which has to be done to fix the tear to the lung, and finding and stopping the internal bleeding. If he survives the next forty-eight hour and improves, then we can open him up and see what else we're dealing with. Obviously you can't enter the room right now, but I'll have the staff roll you some recliners in the observation room for you. I wish I had better news for you, but the fact he made it this far is amazing, so just keep your fingers crossed.

They sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The only sound was the heart monitor in Fred's room. The euphoria of finding him alive had given way to the knowledge that he was still far from alright.

Sam counted in her head every beep that the monitor made as she stared at him. He didn't seem as strong or as big now. He looked like a little boy lost among the machines that they had him hooked up to. She couldn't help but think how hard it would be if he didn't get better, how it would shatter the three of them like glass. It hurt her to see him like this, to know she could do nothing for him but sit and watch and wait.

Noel was lost in thoughts of the many times they had made love and how he had brought love back to her life, and how hard it was going to be to tell him she was sick. After the crash she had felt herself weaken and now day by day she knew that she wasn't going to make it full amount of time the doctor had told her at first. She was going to fight to her last breath to see him get better and tell him about herself.

Carly was wondering what she would do with the other two women if he didn't make it. It would be like having him die twice, and Carly didn't know if any of them could handle that. She wanted to change places with him, and let him be alright, but she knew it didn't work like that in real life.

Noel was the first to notice the change. It was three o'clock in the morning when she woke from a fitful sleep and noticed that Fred was moving his left hand ever so slightly. She blinked a few time to make sure she was awake, and then ran to get the nurse. This woke Sam and Carly and they ran after her.

"Please, in room four-twelve, my fiancé Fred Benson just moved his left hand," Noel almost shouted at the night nurses, "Can you please check on him?"

The head nurse stood and walked into the outer room and dressed in the sterile gowns and gloves that anyone had to wear to go into Fred's room. They took this precaution because of the lung and the pneumonia. She went into the room and the three women ran back to the observation and watched as she approached Fred. They saw her check his pulse and then began to check his pupils. She leaned close to him and appeared to ask him a question or to direct him to something. They all watched and were elated when they saw his right foot flex up and down. He then lifted his index finger on his left hand. The nurse then made a note on the chart and began to take his temperature and blood pressure. After she finished that she left the room and entered the observation room.

"He's conscious, able to at least understand and respond to commands but he still isn't capable of speech yet. His fever is down to one hundred and one degrees, and his blood pressure is stable right now. I'll leave a message for Dr. Churchill and he should be in by eight in the morning. I'm going to give him his morphine shot right now because he was able to respond that he was in pain. Try to get some rest ladies; you look like you could use it."

Dr. Churchill arrived sometime after eight in the morning and went in to see Fred, "Well Mr. Benson, nice to see you in the land of the living. The nurse tells me that you responded to some verbal commands last night and that you were able to move some. I'd like you to show me, please turn your left hand over so that the palm is up."

As the women watched from the other room, Fred slowly managed to do as asked. Sam thought that he looked like that little action had drained his strength. He was very pale, almost white, and it looked like he was struggling hard for breath.

"That's fine," the doctor said, "Can you tell me your first name?"

"F…re…d," he managed to say after a few minutes of trying. It came out sounding like a child's first words and sounded very weak.

"Do you know where you are, if you do just nod your head yes?"

Fred slowly moved his head up and down, fighting for breath after the excursion. Suddenly the women didn't feel near as hopeful as they had last night. He could barely do anything without fighting for air.

"Can you say where you are?" Dr. Churchill asked him.

"Hospital," he said in a slow and drawn out whisper.

"Do you remember what happened?" Dr. Churchill continued to slowly test Fred with questions.

"Cwash, pain cwash," Fred seemed to have to fight just to get the words out and appeared to be in pain. He suddenly began to cough, a bone rattling, ear shattering cough. Blood began to seep from his mouth and he went into convulsions. Dr. Churchill hit a button on the wall and his voice came over the loudspeakers, "I need a crash cart to room four-twelve stat. We have a code blue."

Sam, Noel, and Carly began to cry and bang on the glass. Noel suddenly ran from the observation room and forced her way into Fred's room screaming, "What the hell happened? He was fine a minute ago."

Dr. Churchill turned to an orderly and shouted, "Get her the fuck out of here, NOW!"

The orderly physically picked her up and sat her down in the hall as Sam and Carly joined her. Noel began to scream, "Someone please tell me what's going on, please," she fell to her knees and began to moan and cry like a frightened animal.

The door of Fred's room burst open as the crash team rolled Fred out on a gurney. He was still shaking and coughing up blood. Dr. Churchill shouted to the duty nurse, "Tell surgery to stand by for and emergency case." He turned around to Noel, "Don't ever do that again! I was hoping we could hold off till he was stronger, but we're going to have to open him up now. I'll have a nurse keep you posted so just wait here."

The women spent the next four and a half hours pacing, eating junk food, watching (well staring at it anyway) T.V., and praying. They were just finishing their lunch when Dr. Churchill walked up and sat down with them.

"Considering everything," Churchill told them, "he did really well. We managed to repair the hole in his lung and re-inflate it. We removed his spleen and repaired god knows how many rips and tears he had to blood vessels and nicks in the arties caused by the bone fragments from the ribs. I'd say that the worst is over with, but we're keeping him here for a few days to monitor his progress, but if all goes well he should be able to go home within a week or so. Once he gets out of recovery and is brought back here, you can all go into the room with him. Don't expect much right now, he's still very weak right now, but it should be good for all of you."

"What about the convulsions?" Sam asked.

"That's not that uncommon in people with severe head trauma like his," Dr. Churchill answered.

"Doctor," Noel leaned forward, "Before the crash I found out that I have terminal cancer and I didn't get to tell him, is there a problem if I tell him now?"

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I would wait till he's a little stronger before you tell him," Churchill touched her hands, "Give him a week or maybe after he gets home, I think we all want him to focus on getting better and I'm afraid that telling him might set him back."

Thirty minutes later the nurse came and got them. As she walked them to the room she explained, "Fair warning, he's had his meds which means he's had morphine, and he's flying low right now."

As they entered the room they heard someone just belting out "Poker Face" off key and using random words to fill in the words that were forgotten. They all three women were finding it hard not to laugh. Noel stood on his right side and Sam and Carly on his left.

"Mon amour, how are you feeling?" Noel said quietly.

"I feel fucking great," he answered, "See if we can get a doggie bag of whatever this shot is, I mean this is one wicked buzz I got going on here. Oh hello Carly, Sam how's tricks?"

They looked at him with smiles and answered at the same time, "Good but not as good as you're feeling right now."

"You guys have got to try this shit sometime," Fred then looked in corner and asked them, "Who brought Nug-Nug in here. Come on over Nug-Nug and give us a hug."

All three of them stared at the corner and back at Fred who began to laugh like a madman, "Gotcha! I maybe stoned but I'm not that far gone yet."

All four laughed and talked for twenty minutes and then the nurse came and got them. Over the course of the next week Fred improved at a remarkable rate. Two days after they had their first meeting with him he was able to walk (slowly and with people nearby to catch him if he got tired), and by the weekend the twinkle that had been missing in his eyes returned. He even tried to urge Noel to join him in bed and have some "real" fun. Noel explained to him that they would have to wait several weeks before they could even think about that.

He was released from the hospital on Wednesday, and told to spend the next four weeks in bed, doing nothing strenuous during that time. They got him settled into his and Noel's room and then Noel closed the door and sat on the side of the bed.

"Fred, the doctor told me that I shouldn't tell you this till we got you home, the day before the crash I got sick and had to be taken to the hospital. Do you remember me telling you about the cancer I had?"

Fred nodded, "Yes I do," he felt an ice cold hand latching onto his stomach.

"They found a tumor the size of a pineapple in my stomach. They would kill me if they tried to cut it out and treatment won't work while it's there, Noel noticed that Fred was now pale and a single tear rolled down his cheek, "I have maybe a year or less. I need you to be strong for me because I'm scared Fred," Noel buried her head in Fred's chest and for the first time since she found out sobbed uncontrollably. It was a gut wrenching sound and it shook her body.

Through his own tears Fred whispered to her, "I'll be by your side the whole way Mon amour. I'll never leave you."

The rest of the day and night they spent cuddled up together. They talked about many things and sometimes they didn't talk at all. At three-thirty in the morning Fred got on one knee and asked Noel to marry him, as soon as possible.

"We may not have much time, so why waste anymore of it?" he asked her. She said yes.

Three days later, Stan White had insisted on setting up the wedding and paying for it, Noel's father walked her down the aisle, as Sam and Carly acted as bridesmaids for her, and gave her away to Fred, who had Spencer as his best man. All the pictures of that day showed two people who basked in the glow of love. Noel had never been as happy as she was at that moment, and Fred looked like just what he was, a man who was deeply in love with his new wife. They used the trip to Hawaii he had won for their honeymoon.

He decided to hell with the doctors, and they never left the room for the first two days. He had some minor pain, but it was worth it.

I hope you liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think of it.


	12. Forever

Forever

He tried to move but something wouldn't let him. He could hear voices, but they were far away and try as he would, he could never find the source of them and would end up drifting in the dark again, alone. The other, darker side took hold of him. He could feel the dark hand push him back down into the place where nothing got through. He fought as hard as he could against the darkness, but his breathing became difficult, and he was falling again. He tried to scream, but found he couldn't breathe at all. He tried to force air into his lungs, but couldn't. He knew that if he didn't breath soon he would die. He mustered all the air he had left in his lungs and tried to scream as loud as he could.

Fred sat up in the bed, the silent scream forced all the air out of his lungs. Noel jerked awake and wrapped her arms around her husband and pulled him back down on the bed. She planted soft kisses on his neck and cheek, "Facile mon amour, its ok you're safe. We're in Hawaii on our honeymoon," she felt his heart rate racing and the sweat that formed over his whole body. He had had the same nightmare almost every night since he had left the hospital. He wouldn't talk about it to anyone but her about it, but it scared her, Fred had never been scared of anything since she had met him, but what he had gone through during and after the crash had left a lasting impression on him.

As she held him another wave of pain gripped her and she began to shake and moan. Fred immediately sat up and began to rub her head and talk in a low comforting voice, "We are on the plane, you ask me to hold your nuts and I tell you I don't normally hold strangers nuts," the pain lifts ever so slightly, the grim set of her face eased and she relaxed, "I looked at you and asked you if your boyfriend wouldn't get upset if I kissed you and you asked me what made me think you had a boyfriend, I thought for a long time before I looked at you and you laughed at me. You said for someone so smart I was really stupid about women and we kissed, and my world changed forever," Noel relaxed more and the pain began to ease somewhat, her face took on a serene and peaceful look, "I remember the way you looked at me the first time we made love, the look of trust and lust that you gave me. I never felt like I was the center of someone's world before that, but that night I knew you had put your heart in my hands, and I knew that I never wanted anything more in my life than I wanted you in that moment. I wouldn't trade anything to be here with you and to know that we are together. I have and will always love you."

Noel let a slow breath out and then burrowed into Fred's arms and kissed his chest, before laying her head back down and listening to his heart beat. They had done this every time she had one of those sharp pains, he would rub her head or back and he would tell her a little story from their love story. He would talk in a low and comforting voice and the combination of the two things would help her fight the pain off. They used this to keep her from having to take the pain drugs because they left her in such a fog that she felt she would miss more of her life than it was worth.

The waves crashed into the shore outside the room that they had on the beach of Oahu. Fred had won the trip before the crash at a Pear charity event, but Mr. White had turned it into a month stay with all expenses paid. They had already been there for a week and had yet to visit the beach or anywhere else for that matter. Noel had had three, four with tonight's episode, pain attacks since they had arrived. They had checked with the doctor and found that the tumor hadn't grown in size, but masses were beginning to show up in other parts of her body. She still appeared to have a year to a year and a half left. They both knew that she really only had about half that much left, because in the final stages most patients became bedridden and lapsed into comas long before the end, not all but most.

"Fred, what happened to you when you died?" Noel asked him as she took in his scent and rubbed his chest hair in small circles with her left hand, "I'm scared, and I want to know what happened to you."

Fred ran his hand through her hair and kissed the top of her head, "The first time, on the mountain, it was like someone had wrapped me in a warm blanket, the bitter cold just left me and I felt this… this… sense of peace wash over me, that everything was going to be fine and then the pain just left me. I felt free and comfortable, like all the worries in my life were being lifted from me, and don't think I'm crazy, but I could swear that I heard my mom singing to me, some song that she used to sing when I was little, and then she told me that it wasn't quite time for me yet and to "not let go just yet", and then I felt this sharp pain, and I was back on board this helicopter. I never felt scared of upset, I actually was more upset about having to leave where I was to come back and feel the pain," he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. She returned the passion and they began roll around on the bed.

Noel felt his hand slowly work its way down her body, till it stopped on her left breast, his fingers twirling her nipple around very softly. She moaned in his mouth and reached down and grabbed his manhood and began to stroke it slowly. Soon they were both lost in each other's bodies and the rest of the world drifted away in the sounds and feelings of their love making.

They awoke early and made love once again, slowly, letting the waves of pleasure wash over them, enjoying the feel of each other's bodies and the private, intimate touch that they gave to each other. Fred found himself able to forget the struggle he had gone through during his recovery.

_Flashback _

_He had comedown off the great high he had when the girls had been allowed in to see him, and he was hurting bad now. He had fallen asleep and had woken up in the coolness of the darkened room in pain. He had begun to cough and the pain increased. He could feel the blood splay from his lips. The lung was supposed to be working right, but he could tell something was wrong. He couldn't breathe, the coughs were taking all his air and he had to fight just to catch one breath. He couldn't yell out and try as he might he couldn't find the call button to get a nurse into the room._

_The darkness and the voice returned, the one that had been with him since the mountain, was back, "You're dying, the coughs are tearing the over sow on the lung and it's deflating again. The blood from your lips should tell you that. I had you once on the mountain and a least twice here before now, do you think you can keep pushing me away forever. Fred, I'm part of life, from the moment you were born you've been rushing to me, whether you know it or not. I promise you, all the fear, the worry, it's not necessary, I'm not a bogeyman, and I'm not here to take you yet, but I am here to remind you that I'm here and that I'll be back soon for someone else. You'll have vague memories of our talk, but you'll never be able to recall all of it and never remember that we talked like this, until the time is right. After the next surgery, you're going to improve at a rapid pace and get to go home, but I'm not leaving you yet. I can't tell you why, but know this, make everyday count, because they will drop away like leaves in the fall. Enjoy each other for the time you have. I was with your mother and I walked her to the other side. She was proud of the man you have become and she loved you more than she could ever say. She wants you to know that and to keep moving on, no matter what. Reach your left hand out one more time and you'll find the call button._

_**End flashback**_

He laid there as she slept again and rubbed small circles on Noel's back. He wanted to freeze this moment and hold on to it forever. Just stay in the moment and make reality go away. They needed more time with each other, time to have children together and to watch them grow, time to grow old together and remain at each other's side till they died of old age.

They spent the month walking on the beach and just basking in the joy of each other. Noel had three more bad pain attacks while they were there, and each time Fred held her and told her stories of their love affair while rubbing either her head, back, or stomach. Each time the pain came it was a little stronger and stayed longer. He could feel her slowly drifting away from him and it scared him. He wasn't sure if he could take losing her, she had insinuated herself into his life and heart so quickly and so strongly, that he couldn't imagine his life without her.

They returned from the honeymoon and moved themselves into the small house that Pear Corporation had helped them get. It was ten minutes from the campus and had a very cozy feel about it. Domestic life suited them both well and they set about making a home out of the little house.

They were in bed cuddling just a one day shy of the anniversary of their first meeting when Noel doubled over in pain and began to scream. Fred quickly began to rub her stomach and talking in his low calm tone, "We are walking through the park holding hands, and the soft drizzle of rain makes it just a little chilly. My hand is wrapped up in yours and you laid your head on my shoulder. We said nothing, we just walked slowly. We came to that little grove of trees and you pulled me into them and we began to kiss. Before I knew it we were making love in that grove. We never said a word, a few moans and groans and very heavy breathing, but not any other sound. I never told you this, and I know it sounds weird, but that time felt like some kind of religious experience to me. I always thought that you were my angel, sent to make me a better man, and that that time was proof of that," she seemed to calm down and finally lost the pained look on her face, "That was a real bad one wasn't it?"

"The worst so far," Noel nodded her head, "Fred I'm scared, I don't want to die."

"I don't want you to either," Fred rubbed her stomach, "I was scared on that mountain and in the hospital, but like I told you it was peaceful, once I made peace with death. I was at the point where I could have gone either way, but I remember, vaguely, death talking to me once and telling me not to be afraid, that he was part of life and that it was a good thing when your time comes. When I made peace with it, death wasn't so bad or scary as it seems. I know it sounds crazy, but the nightmares I have aren't about death itself, but of the pain and not being able to hear or interact with people."

"It doesn't sound crazy," she smiled at him, "How did you make peace with it?"

"I discovered that it would happen no matter what, so I listened to the voice and just let go, I know that that sounds weird, but that was it, I had no choice in the matter," he said.

"I guess you're right about that," Noel looked him in the eye, "When the time comes Fred, I need you to let me know you're going to be ok and can let me go, I'll try to hold on till then. Please promise me that you won't crawl into your shell after I'm gone. Take a few months, but then go back out into the world. Lean on your friends, especially Sam. Let her help you because she loves you almost as much as me, maybe more since she's known you so long. Promise me that you won't spend the rest of your life alone, you're too young for that."

"I'll try Mon amour, I will try, but it won't be easy," he told her, "off the subject, do you know why Carly and Sam want us to come over tomorrow night?"

"I have no clue," she smiled at him, "but they sure were adamant about it."

"That's what scares me," he laughed.

Fred and Noel arrived at Sam and Carly's apartment just a little before seven, Fred despised being late, and knocked softly on the door.

"Who is it?" Sam shouted from the back of the apartment, clearly a little put out.

"It's Noel and me," Fred shouted, "You said to meet you here at seven, remember?"

"And what time is it now?" Sam's tone was clearly that of someone who was pissed about something.

"Six-fifty," Fred tried to sound sweet and kind in the reply.

"Right, and six-fifty isn't seven is it jackass?" Sam said as if she were ready to strangle him through the door, "You'll have to use your key, unless you want Carly or me to come open the door nude … you're a married man and perverted for even thinking what you just thought. Just let your selves in."

As soon as the door opened a wall of "Happy Anniversary" sound stunned Fred. Noel wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and hugged him as hard as she could, "It was one year ago today that we met amour de ma vie. And I just had to have a party to celebrate it," Carly and Sam stood in front of them as Noel talked, "Did we surprise you?"

"Yes you did," Fred smiled and then looked at Sam, "I thought you were about to kill me, you really sounded mad."

"I found an old picture of Dean and pretended it was him at the door," Sam smiled and produced said producing said photo and ripping it to shreds.

"Work very well," Fred grinned, "I almost turned around and left."

"Well enter stud," Carly said with just a slight slur of words, "and let's celebrate the day you made Noel want to jump… (Hiccup)… (Loud and Makers Mark smelling burp)… your huge "bone" of manhood," she smiled and Noel noticed that Carly's tongue was orange.

"Carly how many Jell-O squares have you had?" Noel asked, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, about six or seven, I wanted to…(Hiccup)… get somefing, someding, I mean something on my stomach before I darted shrinking, the first two weren't very good, but the rest of them were gucking frate. I think I'm ready for a cocktail now. Why did they call it that? It sounds dirty, like you wand a pecker up your ass instead of a drink…(Hiccup)… ew… that tasted better going down than it did coming back up."

The three of them were thunderstruck at how well "lubed" Carly was. They tried not to laugh, but couldn't help it. Sam took Carly's left arm and Fred her right and walked her to the kitchen.

"Gary Sirers, you hottie, you still got that crouch rash, cause if you don't you want poke the pie for me tonight, oh that's right, you're into Drake aren't you? No worries, I'll never tell a soul," Carly whispered like she was in a wind tunnel, everyone in the building could have heard.

"Christ Carly," Gary looked at her red-faced as the girl he came with got up and stormed off, "I can't believe you "outted" in front of the whole room," Gary spun around and started to leave as Drake came up to him and planted a very passionate kiss on him, "I've wanted to hear that you wanted me every since I met you, but I never dreamed you would really want me like that," Drake then ran his hand down and squeezed Gary's ass as Gary kissed Drake's neck.

"This is seriously going to be one fucked up, off the hook party," Fred said to Sam as he laughed.

"Stories will be told in years to come of this night," Sam laughed as she began to pull Carly toward the kitchen again, "Come on Jell-o queen, we got to sober you up some before you start a war."

"Ok doekay," Carly laughed, "Oh hey Sue, you still seeing Todd's friend Ted on the side?"

"What?" Todd yelled and turned around to a white faced Sue and a red faced and equally stunned Ted, "You two been seeing each other behind my back? You piece of shit," Todd swung and connected his right fist with Ted's left jaw and was about to pounce on him again when Noel grabbed his fist.

"All three of you," Noel was livid, Fred thought he could see the smoke coming out of her ears, "get the fuck out of here, NOW! Hey rump and humper," she yelled at Gary and Drake, breaking them out of the full blown make out session they were in, "I'm not one to stand in the way of true love, but get a fucking room and get the hell out of here. As for the rest of you, I wanted to have this party to celebrate the day I met my husband and to celebrate your love, and if I have to kill everyone in this place, we're going to celebrate shit out of our fucking love and there better not be any more problems! You may now continue with the festivities."

"Far fucking out," Carly said in the silence that Noel's outburst had caused, "you put the smack down on that shit. Don't fuck with the queen," Carly turned green, "oh shit whirlies, yesterdays meat loaf is today's yack."

Carly made a mad dash for the trash can and hurled a very colorful array of food items in various states of digestion. The poor man that stood at the food table with the chips and salsa plate, sat it down and walked up and joined Carly at the trash can and emptied his stomach as well.

Sam looked at her watch and then smiled at Fred as Noel walked up to them and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Seven-twenty-two," she said slowly, "Party has been officially going for twenty-two minutes and we've had a fight, an "outing", and two people have thrown up, FUCKING EPIC!"

The three of them laughed till it hurt. After the stunning opening, the party settled into a very nice even flow. Sam made sure that everyone was having fun and that "drama" was kept to a minimum. Sam found that she had become protective of Noel. She had never been that close to her own sister, but she felt a connection with Noel that ran deep. Maybe it was the fact that they both loved Freddie, or maybe because they thought so much alike, but Sam had found in her a kindred spirit. She had even found, with Noel's help, a new found love of some of the "girly" things that had always made her sick and disgusted when she was younger.

She watched the newlyweds as they talked to people and as they danced. She noticed the slight decline in Noel's health and stamina, she had been with them one night when Noel had one of her pain attacks, and it scared her. Sam had been amazed at the way Freddie had helped her fight through the pain. His voice was so calming and hypnotic; it had made her feel pride that her best friend, and first and only true love, could do something so magical. She saw the unbelievable love for Noel that poured from his eyes and she worried what would happen when Noel passed.

At the moment the happy couple was at the food table. Sam smiled her devious smile as she noticed that Noel was loading Freddie's plate down with "Nucking Futs" hot sauce. It had very little smell but was like setting fire to your tongue. The only way to stop the burn was eating a banana. This was going to be good. Noel looked up and caught Sam's eye and wicked at her as she shook two more drops on the meatballs on his plate. Somewhere at birth, Sam was sure that Noel and Melanie had had been switched at birth and Noel was her true sister.

The couple walked up to her and sat their plates down, "How's Carly doing?" Fred asked Sam as she took a bite of the meatballs on her plate, "She behaving herself?"

Sam chewed and pointed to the dance floor, "The yack twins are now dancing happily, if a bit unsteady," they looked to see the couple dancing in some kind of weird triangle dance step that just barely kept the two of them from falling into the other people in the dance area.

"I still can't believe she didn't know about Jell-O shooters," Noel laughed, watching with interest as Fred stabbed a meatball with his fork.

"Well she may not have thought the ones she was eating were filled with booze," Sam grinned and looked at the floor.

"Jesus Sam," Fred laughed, "Carly might actually do bodily harm for the first time in her life if she finds out you did that."

"Well I guess it was mean, but I didn't make her eat seven of the damn things," Sam chuckled as the three of them turned back around to their plates.

Noel and Sam grinned as Freddie re-stabbed one of the meatballs and popped it in his mouth and began to chew. He began to look strange and seemed to be looking for a drink as Sam and Noel popped one in their mouths and started chewing.

"In about seven seconds you ladies are going to need these," Fred smirked and held out two bananas for them to take, "Growing up with Sam taught me to always keep your eyes open for tricks like that Mon bébé, but nice try."

The two women almost immediately felt the massive heat of the sauce. In less than a second tears began running down their cheeks, sweat popped up on their foreheads and began to pop up all over their faces. They couldn't speak, but they shot Fred death glares as they grabbed the bananas and pealed them and began to eat in a quest to put the fire in their mouths and throat. Fred laughed as quietly as possible as he saw from their faces and eyes that the banana had begun to work.

"Dude, that wasn't funny at all," Sam snapped at him as she chewed on the banana.

"Fred, mon amour, je peux avoir enterrer mon pied dans votre âne," Noel put the death stare on him.

"Ladies, I grew up with Sam," Fred laughed and picked a nacho chip, "You got to know it takes a lot to slip one by me."

Fred took a huge bite of the nacho chip and thought he had bitten into a hot coal as sweat broke out on his forehead and upper lip.

Both women produced bananas and said at the same time, "You were saying your highness? You're right; we could never pull a prank on you."

Fred chewed on the banana Noel offered him and flashed his "evil eye" at both women as they finally broke into huge waves of laughter.

"First rule of "Prank Club", never talk about "Prank Club", second rule of "Prank Club", always double your chances of success," Sam smiled and wicked at Noel, who grinned back at her.

Sometime after nine-thirty, Sam stood on the couch and got everyone's attention, "Alright everyone, time for a couples dance," Sam smiled at Freddie and Noel, "and the couple who will dance first is Noel and Freddie Benson."

The two of them walked out to the impromptu dance floor (the living room floor), and Sam put a cd in a then turned to the crowd,

"The lady has picked the song "Forever" by Queen, enjoy," Sam pointed to the couple.

A haunting melody began to play (please search for and listen t the queen song, "Who wants to live Forever" while reading this)

Fred knew the song the instant it began to play. Noel laid her head on Fred's chest as his arms encircled her waist and pulled her near, and for a moment the whole world just went away and it was just the two of them.

There's no time for us.  
>There's no place for us.<br>What is this thing that builds our dreams,  
>Yet slips away from us?<p>

Who wants to live forever?  
>Who wants to live forever?<br>Ooh.

They danced like magic together. Sam felt a tear stream down her cheek as she watched them. Noel looked up at Fred and silently thanked God for sending this man into her life. She felt at peace for the first time in a long time.

There's no chance for us.  
>It's all decided for us.<br>This world has only one sweet moment,  
>Set aside for us.<p>

Who wants to live forever?  
>Who wants to live forever?<br>Ooh.

Who dares to love forever?  
>Oh, when love must die?<p>

Fred leaned down and kissed Noel gently. They both felt the heat of the kiss all over their bodies. Fred felt like this is were he was supposed to be and who he was be with. Noel had very quickly taken over his heart.

Then touch my tears with your lips.  
>Touch my whole world with your fingertips.<p>

And we can have forever!  
>And we can love forever!<br>Forever is our today.

Who wants to live forever?  
>Who wants to live forever?<br>Forever is our today.

Who waits forever anyway?

The song ended, but they continued dance, slowly. No one made a sound; they just watched the couple as they moved together and kissed. When they stopped kissing for a second to catch their breaths, was when the unmistakable sound of "drunken" Carly shattered the quiet, "No, no, no, no I don't want cocktail weenies, I want the whole salami, one like Fred has in his pants… (Hiccup…burp…and one fart)… "Oh shit, I'm so sorry about that, that's never happened before, at least not at the same time, I twink I'ub twitfaced. I talk good most of the time, so…," Carly didn't finish the profound statement because she passed out and landed face first in the "spiked" punch bowl.

"And Shay goes down," Fred laughed, "Down goes Shay. Puckett what would you say was the point in the fight that she lost real hope of winning?"

"Benson if I had my guess," Sam laughed as she and Fred pulled Carly out of the punch, "I'd say somewhere around Jell-o shooter number four."

Fred picked her up and took her to her room, laid her on her bed. Noel and Sam came in as he was leaving and changed her into her nightie and tucked her in for the night and locked her in her room, so no one could sneak in and do anything to her while she was out cold. After all of that "drama" ended, the party ended around twelve, and the epic task of cleanup began.

After almost an hour and a half the apartment was clean and looked great. Sam went to her room and Fred and Noel took their old room for the night, since they had decided not to go back home.

Noel woke up at four-thirty in the morning in blinding pain. Fred sat up began to trace slow circles over her stomach and talked slow, "We were in that old farm house with the tin roof and it raining. We made love to the sounds of the roof and the water. You said it was the best sex you ever had. The next day we went and rented the tandem bicycle and just rode through the country. That was the day I knew that I couldn't live without you."

Noel seemed to relax, but began to cough. The cough sounded like it came from her toes it was so loud. It rattled her small body. Then Fred saw the blood in the tissues, he yelled at Sam and Carly, "Sam call 9- 1- 1, Carly get me as many towels as you can find. Hang en là mon amour, l'aide est sur le chemin Hang en là mon amour, l'aide est sur le chemin. Just hold on baby, I'm here, right beside you," Fred told his wife.

Yeah I know, I suck leaving this chapter like this, but had to do it. We still several chapters to go, so please hold on, I'll try my best to make it worth your while to hang with this story.

Special shouts out to some friends:

Pigwiz, any of her stories is a great read

Twowritehands, the same goes for them

SamanthaNicoleT and her fantastic story, iMade a huge mistake

eleanorr1gby "The ballad of Sam and Freddie

Jamizp2433 Sam's journey

Just look at my favored stories and check these and more out


	13. Letting Go

Letting Go

The room was bright and she wanted it to be dark. The lights hurt her head and made sleep impossible. Against every shred of her being, Noel forced open her eyes slowly. She was in a hospital room; she knew that because she could see all the tubes and wires running everywhere and the sounds of a heart monitor and other devices.

She felt pain, but it was muted somewhat by this strange tingling sensation, 'They must have given me something for the pain,' she thought as she found it hard to focus on anything. Her mind seemed to be in a fog of confusion, and she found it difficult to latch on to any one thought.

She turned to her right and saw him, the one bright spot in her life, the man who made everyday worth it, Fred. She couldn't tell what time it was, but it had to be day because of the sun light. Fred was asleep in one of the chairs the hospital puts in patients room that are supposed to be comfortable, but are anything but. He looked tired and worn out, but still seeing him made her smile. She knew he would be here, that he would always be here for her, no matter what. She heard his light snore and found peace and comfort in the sound. She loved the way he looked when he was asleep, it brought the little boy inside him out, yet it was also very sexy at the same time. She decided not to wake him and she closed her eyes again and drifted back into the darkness again.

"Hello Noel," a voice in the darkness called out to her, "Don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm a friend."

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Noel shouted into the dark void, "Show yourself!"

"I can't do that honey, not till it's time, but you know who I am and why I'm here," the voice said to her in a calm tone, "don't you?"

Noel felt blind fear and screamed, "GO AWAY, PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE!"

"Darling, you don't need to fear me, remember what Fred told you?" the voice whispered to her, "I'm not a boogieman, I'm part of the cycle of life and I help you to the next phase. You humans have really made me out to be some kind of demon over the years."

"Stay away from me, I don't want to die," Noel insisted and began to run away from the voice, "I'm not ready yet!"

"It's not time yet honey," the voice spoke in front of her now, "But I think you know that, just like you know you can't run from me, like I told Fred, I've been with you since birth and you have been running towards me your whole life, you just didn't know it. I'm here now to let you know that time is short and you have many things to do. You have to let go, I can't make you. You don't have much time honey, now lay back down and in a few seconds you're going to wake up and see the person you were made to be with and the two of you need to decide where I'll see you next. I was with your mom in Tel Aviv, I escorted her over, she hated leaving you, but she knew she had to. She sends her love and wants you to know how proud of you she is and that she will meet you when you crossover. Time to wake up now," the voice was calm and warm to her now and most, but all, of her fear of it was gone now.

"Bienvenue à mon amour," Fred smiled at her through red rimmed eyes.

Noel struggled to get the words out, but finally was able to say, "Bonjour mon amant magnifique."

"How are you feeling babe?" Fred leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"I feel like my brain is soaking in honey," Noel weakly smiled, "everything's very slow in my head."

"That would be from the meds you're on," Dr. Wilson spoke up from her left side, "You're on the good stuff. Do you remember coming into the emergency room?"

Noel shook her head no. She remembered the party and going to bed, making love with Fred, and awakening to a blinding pain. She also had a vague recollection of a chat with something or someone about time and letting go, but nothing that she could say out loud.

"Well I think that you look much better than the last time I saw you, that's for sure," Dr. Wilson smiled at her, "Your father is outside, but I think the three of us need to talk, do you feel up to that?"

Noel nodded her head yes, "Time to drop the other shoe isn't it?"

"I love what I do for a living," Dr. Wilson began, "this however is part of the job that I hate. The mass has doubled in size. It's pushing on the bladder and the stomach now as well as the kidneys. That's were half of the pain is coming from. We could remove some of the mass to help with the pain, but opening you up would just let the cancer spread throughout your body. I can write you prescriptions for some of the most potent painkillers out there, and they would do the trick for a while, but I afraid that when it comes right down to it, even they won't help for long. I'm so sorry that I have to tell you two this, but it is what it is."

Fred let the tears roll down his face without trying to stop them. He gripped Noel's hand tight and looked at her. She was pale and had a few tears rolling down her face as well.

"H… ho… how long?" she asked.

"It could be two days or two weeks," Wilson shook his head, "With the way it's progressed, I think maybe a week or less. Look I know this is a lot to take in, but most patients don't want to die here…"

There it was the word no one wanted to say out loud, the word that everyone avoided using, the word that made it all too real for everyone, DIE! The three most dreaded letters in the world, the small word that put an end to everything.

"… So if you feel up to it, we'll get you stabilized, arrange hospice care and release you to go home. You two think it over and we'll talk later. Would you like me to send your father in now?" Dr. Wilson asked as he headed for the door.

Noel eyes were wide and her lips were trembling slightly. She gave no sign that she heard anything that he had said, so Fred turned to the doctor and said quietly, "Maybe you better give us a minute, I'll step out and get him."

Wilson nodded his head and stepped out of the room.

"Mon amour, are you alright? Please baby, say something," Fred looked at her as he sat down on the bed.

Noel sat trembling, her eyes glazed over, a look of sheer terror on her face, "I… he … I'm… no… please… no… I can't… I don't… why… not fair… NO, it's not fair, He said it, we never said the word before today. "Fred wake me up and get me out of this nightmare, please oh please," Noel whimpered as tears flowed down her faced.

Fred wrapped his arms around her and held her. She buried her face into Fred's chest and began wail like a small child. Mr. Channel walked into the room about three minutes later.

"Mon petit lapin, are you ok?" he shoots a quick glance at Fred and shrugs his shoulders in confusion.

"Mr. Channel," Fred began, "I think you better take a seat, we have some news for you."

It was after five by the time they got home and got Noel settled in the bed. The hospice people would show up first thing in the morning. Sam, Carly, and Mr. Channel were all on hand to help. Mr. Channel took the first turn sitting with his daughter.

"Are you comfortable mon petit lapin?" he asked her as he placed the last pillow behind her back.

"I'm fine papa," she smiled at him, "I wasn't sure that you would be able to come, I thought the peace talks were something you couldn't miss."

"Lapin, you are the most important thing in my life," he looked at her and she could see his eyes watering up, "Your mother, God rests her soul, was so much better with emotions than I ever was. I've never been good at letting people know how I feel. An occupational hazard of my job I'm afraid, never let the other person know what you think or feel, and I fear that I never told you or your mother how much you meant to me. I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel like I didn't love either of you, but know that in my heart you both were always first. I'm proud of you and the things you have done. You've been the daughter every man dreams of having. I look at you and I see so much of your mother in you that you take my breath away. I don't know what I'll do without you," the tears began to slowly trickle down his face; "A father shouldn't have to bury his child. I would give anything lapin it switch places with you right now, I just… I… you… I… can't," the rest was lost as he held her hand and cried.

Noel pulled him onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him and quietly rocked him saying, "SSSHHH, it's ok papa, it's ok, I always knew you loved me and I was always proud of you, I've been very luck to have had you as a father, SSSHHH, it's ok papa, please stop crying, if you don't stop crying everyone will think I wet the bed."

He pulled his head up to look at his daughter and despite himself laughed. He tried to stop, but he couldn't seem to. He looked at her and she was giggling like a school girl, her face red and the smile was from ear to ear. Mr. Channel found the site of his daughter laughing so strange, given the circumstances, that he laughed even harder which caused him to loose control for a second and break wind, very loudly. This sent Noel into a coughing fit of laughter that brought Fred running into the room to check on her.

"Mon amour, is everything al…" he stopped as he saw them laughing, and then the smell hit him, "Woo, what the hell, did something die in here or what?" the instant it left his lips he regretted saying it, it was such an inappropriate thing to say.

Noel's face went blank and she stared at him for a few seconds, "Don't look at me, I'm still kicking," and then she burst out laughing and pointing to her father.

Mr. Channel turned purple and looked like a school boy caught looking at a Playboy magazine by the teacher. He tried to act nonchalant about everything, but he fell apart quickly and joined the laughter.

Fred decided to keep the mood light and added his brand of humor, "I do hope you don't do that while you are in council at the U.N. or World War III isn't very far away."

Noel found this line funny and kept laughing as she added, "Papa really is the head of the committee that oversees Natural Gas distribution in third world counties," she smiled as her laughing slowed down some.

"Sir, are you embezzling some of the product?" Fred smirked at him.

"I don't have to answer that , I have diplomatic immunity," he smiled back at Fred.

The three of them sat and talked for an hour. They talked of Noel's childhood, her mother, her old boyfriends and crushes, the places they had traveled, and other light, fluffy safe things so as not to ruin the mood. At sometime after ten pm, Mr. Channel told them that he had to get to New York for a special vote, but that he would be back in three days which meant Friday morning around six.

"I love you my petit lapin," he told her as he got up to leave, "I've arranged to take a few months off, so I'll be staying with you two for a little while if that's ok?"

"We'll have the guest room set up for you by the time you get back," Fred said to him as he got up to show him out, "By the way, why do you call her your "little rabbit", if I may ask?"

"When she was able to stand on her own instead of walking she hopped everywhere. Her mother and I worried that she would never walk at all, just hop the rest of her life," Mr. Channel laughed and smiled at Noel.

"Papa, why did you tell him that, now he'll kid me about that it all night long?" Noel glared at him in mock anger.

"My dear, I told because he asked," Her father told her, "and if I know the two of you talking isn't all that is in the cards for tonight."

Fred and Noel both blushed as Noel said, "Papa, I can't believe you just said that."

As they left the room Mr. Channel told Fred to call him if any thing changed. Fred insured him he would and watched as he got into the taxi and left.

Fred closed the door and slowly walked back toward their bedroom. Sam walked up to him with a sandwich on a plate and offered it to him.

"Thanks, but no thanks right now," he smiled at her.

"Freddie, you've been up for almost twenty hours, you've eaten nothing and you look like death… shit," Sam stopped herself from saying death warmed over, "Making yourself sick isn't going to help anyone. Sit down and eat this and rest for a few hours and I'll go in and sit with Noel for awhile. Please."

"Sam I'm just not hungry right now and I'm going to stay in there with her," Freddie told her nice but firmly, "I never thought I'd see the day when Sam Puckett offered me food."

"That's why you should take it," she smiled, "You may never see it happen again. I'm bringing it with me into her room. Don't give me any shit about it either. Got it?"

"Yes, mother," he groaned.

Fred noticed that Noel looked like she was in pain as the entered the room, "Do you need some more pain pills babe?" he asked her.

"I just had one an hour and a half ago. Do you think I should take another one so soon?" she wondered.

"Remember what Dr. Wilson told us, to take one and if it started to hurt you could take up to six at a time without it being lethal," he said as he got her two more pills.

Noel turned to Sam and smiled, "When you're terminally ill, you get all the great stuff you want. I may die, but I'll die fucked up."

Fred and Noel laughed right away. It took Sam about five seconds of trying to hold it in before she began to laugh.

"So if I borrow your x-rays could I get some of them," Sam winked at her and smiled, "We could get rich."

The three of the laughed and then began to talk. Fred fell asleep thirty minutes after he sat down, but Noel wasn't feeling any pain and Sam was awake also.

"Noel, I want you to know that I really love you," Sam said quietly, "when I first met you I couldn't have imagined that I would come to think of you as one of my best friends and a sister. I'm not good at emotional stuff as most people, so hope this comes out right, you have made… my … life… so much brighter just by knowing you," Sam found herself crying, "and I wa… want… to thank you for that."

Noel held out her arms and offered Sam a hug. Sam stood still for a moment, but stepped into the hug.

After they broke from the hug Noel looked at Sam, "Remember my request for you to take care of Fred and not let him crawl back into his shell."

"You have my word Noel," Sam smiled down at her, "I'll give him those four months to grieve and then push him back into the world, and yes I promise to tell him how I feel about him."

"Thank you Sam, it takes a load off my mind knowing that Fred will be watched over after I'm gone," Noel's eyes began to get heavy, "Looks like the meds are kicking in, you don't mind if I go to sleep for a little while."

"Not at all kid," Sam smiled and sat down in a chair and watched Noel fall asleep.

.

She floated in the darkness again. It was cool and peaceful, not one sound could she hear. She floated in the void free from the pain and sorrow that had become her everyday life.

"Hello Noel," the voice spoke in its soft calming tone.

"It's not my time is it?" she asked the voice.

"Not quite yet darling," the tone was less frightening to her now than it had been before, "but soon it will be."

"Do you visit all people who die like this?" she asked.

"No," that was all the voice said.

"Why?"

"You'd never understand," it said, "you do understand that time is running out? Remember, only you can truly let go. You're going to wake up now and you're going to be in pain, I'm truly sorry about that, but say what you need to say, because you're almost out of time."

.

Fred sat up with a start when he heard her moaning. He looked around for a second to get his bearings, and immediately grabbed Noel's hand, "Mon amour, what's wrong?"

Her face was racked with pain and she screamed once in great pain. The hospice worker came in immediately and injected Noel's I.V. bag with a pain killer. It calmed her down some, but she still felt the pain. Fred got in bed with her and laid her head on his chest and rubbed her back and began to talk, "We'll get a nice little house by the ocean so we can fall asleep to the sound of the waves. We will be able to build fires on the beach and watch the sun set. We will be able to swim during the day and count the stars at night," Fred looked down at her and saw that the pain was easing up some, "and we can make love under the stars, maybe even in a hammock."

In a very low, weak voice Noel spoke to Fred, "I have loved you since before I even knew you. I can't begin to tell you what you have and continue to mean to me. When the time comes, I need you to let me know that it's ok for me to go, that you will be ok without me."

"Don't talk like that Mon amour, we still have some time, just rest now," Fred rubbed her head with a moist rag, wiping away the thin sheen of sweat that had formed over her face, "I'll be right here, I'll take care of you."

Noel smiled and closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Fred stroked her hair and hummed the tune to "Falling For You" by Colbie Caillat, as a few tears rolled down his face.

.

"Are you here?" Noel asked the darkness.

"I'm here," the voice was much closer to her now, "I'm always here."

"Are you God?" she asked.

"Heavens no, I'm just an employee," the voice said with a chuckle, "I'm afraid I don't know the master plan any better than you do."

"My time is close now, isn't it?" Noel asked.

"Yes it is," the voice was so soothing to her, "We will be together for the next little bit, till time for you to go."

"I'm not going to wake up am I?" Noel asked.

"No my dear," the voice told her, "that was your last goodbye; you've slipped into a coma now. The end is very near, all you have to do is let go and we will leave."

"I can't go till I know that he's going to be ok and not crawl back into his shell," Noel told the voice, "I have to know."

"You still have some time," the voice now seemed to be just out of reach, "You need to rest."

"What do we do now?" Noel asked, unsure what would happen till they left.

"Know any show tunes?" the voice chuckled.

.

.

"She lapsed into a coma three days ago and hasn't been able to accept any food or water since then," The hospice nurse was filling in the new nurse who was coming on duty, "Blood pressure is down, her heart rate is down, and the only signs that she's given us is she still shows that she's in pain and she responds to the voice and touch of her husband. It's just a waiting game now."

The new nurse nodded to her and entered the bedroom. Fred sat in the bed holding Noel, stroking her hair and arms. Her father sat in a chair on the left side of the bed, looking like a man twice his age, staring at his daughter and rubbing his hands together in a way that looked like he was in prayer. Sam sat in a chair on the right side of the bed rubbing Freddie's right arm and Carly stood near the door. The new shift nurse took all of that in and then began taking Noel's vital signs.

When she was done Fred asked her in a shaky whisper of a voice, "Any change?"

The nurse shook her head and said, "She's still hold on."

The words struck Fred like an invisible slap across the face, and pulled a memory from his mind that he didn't know was there.

.

_Flashback_

"_Fred, Freddie, Fredo, the Fredmister, what's up?" the voice shouted loudly._

"_What, I'm tired," Fred shouted back._

"_Well you sound irritated, feeling better?" the voice asked._

"_No as a matter of fact I don't, I hurt like hell. Every part of me hurts including my teeth," Fred said, annoyed at the voice._

"_Don't jump down my throat, it isn't my fault. It could be worse you know, you could not feel anything at all," the voice reminded him._

"_Look no offence, but if you're going to take me can you just do it and get it over with, I'm tired and don't feel like talking anymore? " Fred asked the voice._

"_I can only do what the boss tells me to do, and you ain't going anywhere, the voice sounded a little tickled at Fred's annoyance with it, "listen, in a few moments you're going to wake up again and be in a world of hurt for awhile. When the time comes you are going to remember this talk very clearly and you'll know what to do. I can't just take someone I visit, they have to let go on their own, remember that, THEY HAVE TO LET GO ON THEIR OWN. I have to leave you now Fred, remember what I told you and enjoy all the days that you live, for they are special."_

_._

_End Flashback_

_._

_._

"Freddie, are you ok?" Sam shook him and snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked at her and then at Noel's father. He took a steadying breath and looked at Carly before looking down at Noel.

"Mon amour, you came to me during a dark time in my life, I couldn't see any light and had little to hang on to, and then you appeared in front of me, and I found a reason to smile and laugh again," everyone in the room sat back and watched and listened, tears rolling down their cheeks, like they were rolling down Fred's as he spoke, "Baby it's ok to go now, I promise I'll be alright. I'll be sad and lonely for a time, but I promise I'll keep going; I won't hide from the world again. Everything will be fine, you can let go now. Just let the pain slip away, just let it float away baby. Let all the pain go, let all the bad things leave your body, you've done all you can do here baby, listen to the voice and just let go. We'll always have you in our hearts and minds baby," Fred was openly weeping now, as were the others, and stroking her face and hair softly, "just rest now. You can stop fighting and rest baby, please just rest and let go."

.

.

"Noel, honey, it's time," the voice now appeared in front of her. It looked like a man, nothing special, just a regular man. He extended his hand and smiled at her, "Take my hand, we have a journey ahead of us. You're going to see many wondrous things, and we need to go. Are you ready?"

Noel listened to and watched Fred as he talked to her and smiled a sad smile and asked, "Will I ever see him again?"

"Someday, when he finishes what he's there to do, I'll walk him over also," the man said with a smile as he extended his hand again, "You have to take my hand, I can't force you to take it, remember."

Noel slowly extended her hand, but before she took his she turned for one more look at Fred, "I have, I do, and I always will love you mon amour. Have a good life and know that I want you to be with Sam or whoever you should meet, I want you to be happy."

She took her left hand and blew him a kiss. She then turned around and placed her hand in the man's hand.

"Here we go honey," he smiled at her and they began to walk toward a distance light.

.

.

Noel drew in a ragged breath and exhaled one last time and then the painful expression on her face was replaced with a smile. Fred could feel the difference in her body and knew immediately what had happened.

His voice took on a heartbreaking tone as he wailed, "That's it mon amour, be at peace."

He bent down and kissed her lips one last time and stood up from the bed. Sam stood in front of him, tears streaming down her face. Freddie looked at her and wrapped his arms around her and wailed as he sank to his knees, still hugging her, "Oh my God, she's gone, she's gone!"

Sam wrapped her arms around his head, which was now at her stomach, and hugged and kissed the top of his head, "We're here for you Freddie, we're here for you," Carly joined them and they hugged Freddie and cried together as Noel's father sat on the bed and held his daughters hand and cried.

.

.

.

Sorry this one took awhile to write, I'm a little too close to the subject I guess. There is still more to come. We now have to get to the Seddie part of the story. As always let me know what you think!


	14. She's Gone

She's Gone

The days following Noel's death were hectic ones. Her body was flown back to Paris where she was buried next to her mother. Sam and Carly joined Fred on the flight to Paris. The funeral was a lavish affair as befits the daughter of a famous and powerful diplomat's daughter. Stan White, wearing his two new prosthetic legs, joined several executives from Pear in attending the service. Most of the major news outlets carried the story because it had all the hooks of a great news story, wealth, power, fame, politics, young love, and tragic young death.

For his part Fred held up well. He was hounded at every turn by reporters asking insane questions about private things and the like. He held himself above the fray, not giving into the temptation to take a swing at the stupid things they asked. He only came close once when one reporter dared to make the comment that Sam and Carly were his "mistresses" and "ladies in waiting", but he just turned and kept walking. He only came close to breaking down once, when it was his turn to throw a rose and dirt on the coffin before dirt was shoveled over it. He had done both, but stood at the edge of the grave until they had to ask him to move so they could begin to shovel the dirt in.

The next few months Fred was like a man on fire. He threw himself in his school work and his new job at Pear with a ferocity that stunned everyone. He caught up and surpassed his class work and quickly established himself as hardworking, hands on kind of executive at Pear. He came up with and was involved in the Pear phone design of a water proof phone, as well as several apps for emergencies of all kinds. He explained that his time on the mountain had shown him the need for these things and he was going to make them happen.

Everyone was amazed at how well he seemed to be moving on with his life, everyone but Carly and Sam. They saw the man who never went into his small house, who wouldn't even step foot into his old room in the apartment, who slept on the couch, when he slept at all, and who found something, no matter how small, to fill almost every hour of the day and night. He literally never stopped going. Sam kept quiet about the situation for the first month or so, but as the second month of the nonstop Freddie train of activities rolled on, she finally broke her silence.

"Ok Freddie, we've put up with your hundred mile per hour, I can't stop or take a break bullshit long enough," Sam blocked the door as he was trying to leave to head to the library on a Friday night, "No one can live at the pace you're setting for yourself. You don't stop for anything, hell you barely eat anymore. You look like a scarecrow, and I haven't seen you so much as come close to anything resembling a smile in months. You are going to put those books down and follow me and Carly to "The Black Hole" for some drinks and a little music, period!"

"I don't want to get a drink or listen to music Sam," Freddie stated as he tried to push past her.

"I didn't ask you if you wanted to did I?" she snapped at him and continued to block his path, "I told you that you were coming with us and I damn well meant it. You can walk or be dragged by your heels, but come with us you will!"

Freddie grunted his disapproval, but set his books down on the coffee table and turned back to face Sam, "Fine, I'll go! But I'm doing so under protest, I want it noted."

"I don't give a shit if you do it in the fucking nude with hazard flares, as long as you come with us," Sam smiled at him and thought to herself, 'I wish you would strip down for me, you fine looking piece of prime mancandy!'

The pub was full, as was always the case on a Friday night. The three of them found a table near the stage and sat down. Mike and the Zombies were playing there and were getting set up. Mike Kaiser came over and leaned down to tell Freddie how sorry he was about Noel and offered to do anything he could do to help. Freddie thanked him and the two friends hugged before Mike rejoined his band.

Freddie wasn't really in the mood for this kind of thing, it reminded him to much of not having Noel to lean on, and he didn't need that kind of hurt. He noticed that people were hooking up all over the place, and it reminded him that he had no one in his life.

Carly and Sam went to the bar to get a "bucket o' beers" and a menu, leaving Freddie alone at the table. A redheaded girl made her way across bar and walked up to Freddie. Sam saw her and started to fly over to the table, but Carly grabbed her arm and stopped her.

Before Sam could say a word Carly shook her head at Sam and just smiled, "Sam before you go off half cocked and start beating the entire female population of the school, think about it. We both know it's too soon for him to do anything, and when he does get ready, the first one stands no chance of being anything other than a one night stand. The only way around that is to take your time and let him know just how much you care and how close to each other you are. Let the skanks throw themselves at him and he'll see just what he has in you compared to those losers, thrust me."

Sam glared at her and said, "You better be right Shay! I've waited a long time for my second chance, and if listening to you fucks it up, I'll put hot sauce in your Monistat and burn that coochie of yours up!"

"Relax Sam," Carly smiled, "and watch 'ole Carly's words bear fruit. View yon maiden as she attempts to sway our gallant hero and see how she is rebuffed by him."

The girls eased their way into earshot range of the table so they could hear the conversation between the two of them.

The girl smiled at Freddie and spoke, "Hello, I'm Rita, and I noticed you're sitting here alone and was wondering if you'd like some company?"

"Thanks," he smiled as best he could, "But I'm with two friends and I'm not looking for anymore company tonight."

"I saw the two chicks that came in with you doll," Rita smiled at him as she bent over, flashing him her large freckled tits, "and honey, if you can keep those two happy, hell I'm not a prude, four is a real interesting number if you ask me."

"Really?" Fred raised his eyebrow at her, "I think that would be great, which one can do you want to fuck the German Sheppard or the goat. I really like watching the goat go to town, the girls won't do him anymore though because he eats their hair while he fucks. How do you feel about "golden showers?"

"Are fucking kidding me?" the girl said far too loud and caused everyone to turn and look at them, "Goats and "golden showers", what kind of kinky shit are you talking about? Eww, you're just a fucking pervert you sick bastard. I ain't about to fuck no goat or let you piss on me!"

Everyone laughed as she spoke, which just made her madder, and Fred just raised his eyebrow and fought as hard as he could not to laugh himself.

Sam couldn't stand another minute of missing out on some of the fun to be had with this girl, so she returned to the table with the beer, "I don't blame you honey," she smiled, her face turning red from the urge to laugh, "That fucking goat 'll eat your hair and sometimes he shits while he fucks."

"You people are fucking wacked in the head," Rita shook her head, "fuck you both and the horse you road in on!"

"Oh sweet, you'd fuck a horse, that would be better than the goat any day," Fred smiled with a twinkle in his eye.

"Eww, pervert," she screamed and stalked off, as everyone in the bar laughed at her.

Fred stood and took a bow to the crowd and sat back down. Carly walked to the table, clapping as she did, and sat down.

"Well, that was quite a show," Carly laughed and grabbed a beer.

"Well I guess I was a little overboard with her," Fred smiled, "but I'm not looking to hook up with anyone, especially someone like her. I don't want some meaningless sex with someone who sleeps around. I want what I had with Noel, I want the magic now, I can't go back to the whole "who can I sleep with tonight" stuff."

"You were kind of rude," Carly laughed.

"Well she kind of had that coming, seeing me walk in with to beautiful women and coming up and hitting on me? Now that was rude and just a touch slutty if you ask me," Fred said with a chuckle as he reached for a beer.

"I thought you weren't in the mood to have fun and didn't want to drink," Sam looked at him with a stern look on her face.

"I didn't, but then I said fuck it why not," he smiled as he turned the bottle up and took a swig of beer.

Sam was dazzled. It was the first time in almost two months that she had seen him smile, and it took her breath away. There was even a touch of the old twinkle back in his eyes. The rebuff of the skank had flipped some kind of switch in him and brought the old Freddie back, and she wanted to help him stay that way.

The band started to play and everyone began to dance. Sam stood and held out her hand to Freddie, who shook his head no, and then grabbed his hand and pulled him up and out on to the dance floor.

"It's not going to hurt you to dance one time, besides I want to dance and most of these guys look like losers," she smiled at him and put her "sad puppy" look on her face.

"Sam, I can only really slow dance," he said looking embarrassed, "I can't fast dance for shit!"

"Hell Freddie, most of the people out here can't dance, but they do it anyway," Sam started to dance around him, "So just loosen up your tight ass and just move to the music, got it?"

"I hate this," he grimaced as he began to move with the music.

Sam was impressed with the moves he was making on the floor, "There you see, you're not that bad a dancer. You really look quite good dancing," she told him as they danced in their own little space on the floor.

Freddie broke into his patented smirk and then moved closer to Sam, "Look don't get a swelled head or anything, but thank you. You were right, I've been hiding out from life, exactly what I promised her I wouldn't do. I'm really having a great time."

"I told you so," she laughed and moved a little closer toward him, "You must trust the wisdom of momma young grasshopper!"

They laughed at her joke and suddenly were close enough to each other that Sam could feel the heat from his body. They danced that way for two songs smiling and looking into each other's eyes, and Sam was happier than she had been in years. Freddie seemed like his old self and free of the gloom that had dogged him since Noel's death.

The song ended and a woman walked up to the microphone as the band began to play a slow tune. Freddie looked at Sam and offered his hand to her, and when she took it, pulled her close to him and began to sway with the music:

I'll always love you for the rest of my days  
>You have won my heart and my soul<br>With your sweet, sexy ways  
>You gave me hope when I needed someone near<br>You bring me happiness  
>every day of every year<p>

The lyrics were not lost on Sam as they danced. She looked up into his eyes and wanted to tell him that this song was how she felt about him, but no words came, only a contented smile and a sigh. She felt his big strong hands around her and knew what heaven must be like.

I'll always love you for all that you are  
>You have made my life complete<br>You're my lucky star  
>You are the one that I've been searching for<br>You are my everything  
>Tell me who could ask for more<br>And I'll always love you  
>Honey, this will never end<p>

They danced in slow small circles, never moving very far from their starting point. Carly was struck by just how natural they looked together and how well they moved.

Sam was lost in the moment, thinking to herself that she wanted to dance at their wedding to this very song. Freddie was lost in his own thoughts, at how peaceful this felt and how much he was enjoying himself.

As he spun Sam around in a lazy circle he felt a tap at his shoulder, "May I cut in?" a handsome blonde man asked.

Freddie looked at the man and then looked at Sam, who seemed annoyed, as she shook her head no and answered, "Not right now, maybe later."

I need you by my side, Baby  
>You're my lover, my friend<br>My friend  
>You gave my world a thrill I've never known.<br>And filled my eager heart with  
>a love to call my own.<p>

Sam laid her head back on Freddie's chest and lost herself again in his touch. No man had ever really made her feel safe and loved, ever, but in this place at this moment, she felt both and a feeling that maybe the fairy tales were true. She grinned to herself for the "girly" way she was feeling, but instead of hating it or denying it, she gave it free rein.

Freddie felt a tap at his shoulder again and turned to see the same blonde man again, "May I cut in now?" he asked.

Sam lost it and yelled at him, "Listen, you nutsuck, I'm trying to have a moment here and you are being a major buzz kill, now FUCK OFF!

The man retreated back to the outer edges of the floor and Sam laid her head back down on Freddie's chest and they kept dancing.

And I'll always love you  
>You must know how much I do.<br>You can count on me forever and  
>I will take good care of you.<br>I'll always love you  
>I'm so happy that you're mine<br>I'll always love you, yes  
>Till the end of time<p>

The song ended, but Sam and Freddie kept dancing for a few seconds before they noticed and then stopped themselves. They walked back to the table, Freddie with a smile on his face and Sam with a shit eating grin on hers, and sat down.

Carly smiled at them, "Well you two seem to be having fun."

"A lot better time than that poor dude who wanted to cut in," Freddie laughed and took a swig of beer.

"Well he deserved it," Sam grinned, "may I cut in? Twice in less than a minute he asks. He really was a nutsuck."

"That would be a great name for a porn star, Harry Nutsuck, it has a ring to it don't you think?" Freddie said with a straight face.

Carly choked on her beer laughing, and had it come out of her nose, which sent Freddie and Sam into uncontrollable laughter.

"Damn it, warn somebody before you say shit like that next time," Carly said as she started to clean the mess up she had made.

The three of them easily slipped back into the ebb and flow that they had with each other since grade school, laughing and having a good time. Freddie felt the pall that had settled over him lift just a bit; he thought he could feel Noel near him, smiling at him having a good time.

Mike came down from the stage and approached Freddie, "Hey man, would you be interested in singing a song with us or maybe playing with us a little?"

"You so have to sing a song Freddie," Sam and Carly both started pounding the table.

"I don't think…," Freddie started to say.

Sam stood up in her chair and yelled at the crowd, "We need your help in getting Freddie here up to the stage to sing us a song. What do say, Freddie, Freddie, Freddie, Freddie?"

The crowd joined in and Freddie shook his head and walked to the stage. The whole bar cheered as he spoke to the band and they began to play a slow haunting melody as Freddie took the microphone:

Everybody's high on consolation  
>Everybody's trying to tell me<br>What is right for me, yeah  
>I need a drink and a quick decision<br>Now it's up to me, ooooh what will be

She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>Oh, why  
>I better learn how to face it<br>She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>Oh, why  
>I'd pay the devil to replace her<br>She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>What went wrong

The crowd was hushed and silent as he sang. People swayed to the rhythm, couples hugged or danced. Sam and Carly noticed that Freddie was really pouring his heart out with this song, and they both felt tears well up.

Freddie felt the darkness that was creeping around just under the surface, pouring out of him as he sang. The heaviness seemed to flow out with the words.

Get up in the morning, look in the mirror  
>One less tooth brush hanging in the stand<br>My face ain't looking any younger  
>Now what I can see<br>Love's taken a toll on me

She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>Oh, why  
>I better learn how to face it<br>She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>Oh, why  
>I'd pay the devil to replace her<br>She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>What went wrong

Something was happening to Freddie on the stage. The song took on much more meaning than it had started out to be. He felt the pain that he had felt and lived with for the past few months boil to the surface again, but in a good way. It was very tiny, but he felt a small piece of his heart beginning to heal.

Think I'll spend eternity in the city  
>Let the carbon and monoxide choke my thoughts away<br>And pretty bodies help dissolve the memories  
>They can never be what she once was to me<p>

She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>Oh, why  
>I better learn how to face it<br>She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>Oh, why  
>I'd pay the devil to replace her<br>She's gone, she's gone  
>Oh, why<br>What went wrong

The crowd was quiet for a few seconds after the song ended, almost like they were afraid to spoil the tender moment, and then erupted in thunderous applause and whistles. Freddie took a bow and rejoined the girls at their table.

The rest of the evening they spent drinking and talking. Around one in the morning they left and walked back to the apartment. Once inside Carly went on to her room to go to bed and left Sam and Freddie sitting on the couch to talk.

"I really did have a good time tonight Sam," Freddie smiled at her, "I almost forgot for a little bit. I don't know what to do with myself Sam, it's like losing an arm or a leg, this piece of me, this really important piece on me, is missing now and I don't know what to do or how to act. It's not like a break-up, we didn't fight and go our separate ways or something, that I could handle, but this I just don't know"

"I wish I could tell you what to do dork," she grinned up at him as she took his hands in hers. He grinned back at her.

"I've missed your little nicknames for me."

"Freddie, I know it's got to be tough, but at least you guys had all those months together, some of us have never had that. I looked at you two and relished that what I felt for Dean wasn't love, I mean not real love, not what you and Noel had. You guys had what everyone is looking for; I think you should hold on to that, but not so much that it keeps you from looking for it again. Not to say that it will be the exact same, but it could be really good in its own right."

They both had leaned back on the couch and were looking at each other as they spoke. Sam couldn't help but stare at the dark brown eyes and play the mental picture in her head of the two of them kissing and rolling around on the bed.

"You really think that I could find someone out there who would want to take me on with all the baggage I have to bring into a relationship?" he quizzed her.

"Trust me Freddie," she smiled at him, "There is someone out there who would be more than willing to spend a lifetime with you. She might be right under your nose."

"Damn, you mean Rita might have been the one and I chased her away with a "golden shower" line, shit I just can't win?" Freddie laughed.

"No, but you may have chased away a quick "pipe cleaning"!" Sam raised both eyebrows at him.

"I can clean my own pipes with a "Playboy" and some Vaseline, and not have to worry about a trip to the free clinic," he raised his own eyebrows and laughed at her.

"Eww, T.M.I. dude," Sam made a face at him, "Look in all seriousness, I'm jealous of you, at least you know what it's like to have had that kind of love in your life, most people dream of what you had, hell even I dream of feeling that way about somebody and having them feel the same way back. Dean is as close as I've ever come and it was painfully short of real love, in hindsight," Sam laid her head on Freddie's shoulder as she spoke, "I want to "feel the magic" like you said, at least once."

"Sam I know that the "magic" is out there waiting for you," Freddie put his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes, "You're going to find a guy who really understands just how fantastic and beautiful you are and who will get just how lucky he is that you are in his life. This guy is going to be the luckiest dude on the face of the planet, and he better treat you right, because if he doesn't, I'll kick his ass," Freddie smiled at her.

For a few seconds they looked deep into each other's eyes, and began to lean in, moving closer to each other's lips, when Freddie suddenly sat bolt upright on the couch, "Um, ok, I guess I better get some sleep, or brush my teeth, or something. Well goodnight," he extended his hand as if to shake Sam's hand, and then pulled it back with a small chuckle, and gave her an awkward hug and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Sam sat there as if afraid to move, looking from the spot beside her to the bathroom door and back shaking her head, "What the fuck just happened?" she said out loud to no one, "Oh shit, I'm in so much trouble. This is going to take more work than I thought."

Freddie banged his head on the tile of the bathroom, "Shit Noel, I was right there, we could be going to her room right now, but NO, I'm standing in the bathroom talking to myself. This is going to be harder than I thought!"

.

Yes, I know this one took too long to write and I'm sorry. In my defense, I'm feeling better, my hair is growing back, and one of my closest friends, Tamathy, has come to see me and tell me that she as feelings for me. So, screw timely updates, I GOT A WOMAN! LOL I'm working on all my stories, but I'm also exploring some new possibilities in my life, so I may be slow, but at least you know why!

I wanted to lighten up with this chapter after all the drama, but I don't want to rush Sam and Freddie together just yet. I feel that Noel deserves some respect and a proper amount of grieving.

As always, let me know what you think!

Did I mention that Tamathy is the most gorgeous woman on the planet? Well she is, no offence to all the other ladies out there.


	15. Moving Forward

Moving Forward

Sam spent a very restless night in her room. Freddie spent an equally restless night on the couch. The events of the night before replaying in both their minds and thoughts of what might have been, they both more than once almost went to the other, but chickened out in the end.

Carly awoke around eight in the morning, and made her way into the kitchen. Freddie was sitting at the kitchen table spinning the lazy susan slowly around. He looked like he had been on a three day drunk. She knew he hadn't had that much to drink and wondered what had happened after she went to bed.

"Well I see that the dead walk the earth," she joked as she reached into the freezer grabbed a toaster scramble and popped it into the toaster, "You look like death warmed over, what happened last night?"

Freddie was lost in thought and heard nothing she said, he just kept turning the lazy susan around.

"Hello, earth to Freddie, earth to Freddie, hello," she finally waved her hand in front of his face and broke him out of his self imposed exile.

"W…om… Oh hi Carly what's up?" he looked dazed at her.

"Not you from the looks of things," she smiled at him, "are you ok?"

"Huh, oh yeah, yeah I'm fine, just thinking," he told her as the toaster dinged, letting Carly know her scramble was ready.

"That much I can tell, ow SHIT," Carly cussed as she pulled the hot scramble from the toaster and burned her fingers, "So what you so lost in thought over?"

"Just stuff, you know, where I go and what I do from here," he gave her a slightly sad smile, "This isn't where I expected to be at this point in my life. I had this part mapped out as going an entirely different way. I feel like I'm in a holding pattern or something, everything is still fresh and like an open wound, but then all this other "stuff" starts coming at me from out of nowhere and I feel like I'm being pulled in two different directions. I feel like whichever way I go I'm going to look like the world's biggest prick."

"Look Freddie, I don't know what "stuff" you're talking about, but the only thing I can tell you is just go with your heart, and don't worry about what people think, those of us who know you know that you're not a jerk," Carly had sat down in front of him and had taken his hand in hers, "You don't owe anyone anything but yourself. If anyone deserves some happiness it's you Freddie, don't feel bad about taking it."

"Coffee," Sam shambled into the kitchen looking almost as dead as Freddie did.

"Good morning sunshine," Carly chuckled at her.

"Fuck off Shay," Sam growled, "COFFEE!"

"Gee, who shit in your oatmeal this morning?" Carly laughed as Sam poured herself coffee and slumped into the chair between Carly and Freddie.

"I didn't sleep good last night," Sam said as she sipped her coffee. She and Freddie traded looks very quickly and then looked away.

"Well it seems to be catching," Carly grinned as Freddie shot her a look that would have cut diamonds.

Sam and Freddie looked at each other again, and quickly looked away. Carly watched the proceedings with great amusement.

"So, it's suppose to get up into the eighty's today, what do ya' say we go to the beach?" Carly suggested.

"Sure, maybe the sun and the waves can kill the little fucker that's using the jackhammer in my head," Sam moaned.

"I'm game," Freddie said.

"Well good it's settled. Want to leave about nine or nine-thirty?" Carly asked cheerfully as she clapped her hands.

"Carly, I love you like a sister, but if you don't stop being so damned peppy, I'll be forced to beat you to death and scatter you around the city," Sam glared at her friend and her clapping hands.

"Oh don't be so grumpy," Carly smiled, "go back and lay down for an hour, and we'll leave at nine-thirty."

Freddie yawned and stood up, "I think I'll do the same thing," and walked at stretched out on the couch.

Carly touched Sam's arm, "What happened after I went to bed last night?"

"We talked and then we almost kissed, but he ran to the bathroom like I had set his ass on fire," Sam whispered.

"He was sitting here in the kitchen when I got up this morning just turning the lazy susan around and around and staring into space. Then he started talking about "plans", "where I'm going", and all kinds of stuff," Carly whispered, "What did he say to you when you two talked last night?"

"We just talked about Noel and him having a good time last night and we somehow ended up this (holding her thumb and index finger very close together) close to kissing, at least I think we were close to kissing, and he just sat up and made a beeline for the bathroom."

"Well, just keep up what you're doing, I think he's already beginning to get some ideas about where his future lies," Carly smiled, "I think he may be thinking about you that way already, just take your time."

"I am," Sam smiled at her, "but I so wanted that kiss last night, hell I wanted him to follow me into my room last night. I can't even take a shower or brush my teeth without him popping into my head. I mean it Carly, I'm hopelessly in love with him and I believe that I've been in love with him for a long time and just didn't know it."

"Well I think that he may very well feel the same way about you Sam," Carly grinned at her, "just give it time and don't rush it, and I can see the two of you in a house somewhere with kids and dogs and a sound proof room so the two of you can have sex without waking the whole block."

"God I hope so," Sam laid her face down on the table.

They got to the beach at about ten minutes after ten and spread out their towels and cooler. Sam wore her blue bikini and Carly wore a pink two piece. Freddie wore a pair of red trunks that while not a Speedo or anything like that, did show his lower body off rather well. He had a "Hard To Die" tee-shirt on, which he removed after they got settled. Even with the scars from the crash, his upper body was well defined and showed not one ounce of fat. The dark hair on his chest gave his already sexy frame the look of a man's man. Sam found herself dying to run her fingers through his chest hair and to lay her head down on that chest.

It took the rest of the ladies on the beach less than five seconds to notice Freddie and to begin fantasizing about him doing all kinds of things with them. Sam smiled as a lady who must have been at least seventy years old walked past them and reached out and patted Freddie's ass and winked at him, "Forty years ago honey, I'd have had you under the pier doing things to me that would blow your mind," she smiled at him and turned to Sam, "You better watch this one doll, he's like meat to hungry lions on this beach. Mmm… I wouldn't mind a ride on you son, you remind me of my late husband Ken, that man could fuck like a pro. He also had a really big tallywacker, I measured him once and it was a little over eleven inches. What have you got swinging on you son?"

Freddie was six shades of red, but he was laughing. Sam watched the old lady and Freddie talk and was amazed at the way he so easily chatted with her. She could tell the younger man and older man must be her son and her grandson. The old lady had been slightly bent over when they had started talking, but as Freddie talked to her and smiled, she had straightened up quite a bit, and Sam also noticed that this woman was flirting with him.

Instead of saying anything out, Freddie whispered in her ear. Her eyes went wide and she actually reached down and to Sam, Carly, and the woman's son and grandson surprise, grabbed Freddie's crotch and rubbed it, "Shit son, you got my Ken beat. What do you say, leave these losers and despite a hip replacement, I show you some old school moves. You know what they say, once you've had granny, you can't go back."

Freddie, Carly, and Sam were laughing along with the lady, while her son and grandson just stood there, in shock, "Momma, how can you talk like that? And where did you get that dirty mouth? And when did you start talking about sex?"

"Oh, Robert," the lady turned toward him, "lighten the fuck up. How do you think you got here, Western Union, your daddy and I screwing right up to the time he died."

Robert placed his hands over his sons ears, "Momma I can't believe this, I never," His mother cut him off.

"That's your problem baby, you need to go home and fuck Carol silly," the old lady laughed, "now, back to you, me, and some baby oil."

Freddie had Sam and Carly check their purses for a pen and paper. When they found both he took it and wrote his name and phone number on it and slipped in her cleavage, doing it slowly and looking her in the eyes. The woman shivered slightly and his touch and said, "Dear lord honey, you're going to make me have to pull the vibraterator out of my closet."

"You call me anytime, I'm sorry I never asked you your name," Freddie asked.

"Bonnie Crane, and you are?" the woman asked.

"Freddie, Freddie Benson, and Bonnie, you call me at that number and we can talk about "things", Freddie smiled and raised his left eyebrow as he kissed her hand.

"You got a deal son," Bonnie smiled, "I figure if I'm going to break a hip anyway, I might as well get me a killer orgasm while I'm doing it. Bye son, blondie?" Bonnie turned toward Sam, "You do whatever you have to do to keep this one, he'll take good care of you, in every way, Sam."

"We're just friends Bonnie," Sam smiled at her.

"Are you a lesbian?" Bonnie asked.

"No Bonnie, I like guys," Sam chucked.

"You got a boyfriend or a husband?"

"Nope."

"Well then honey what are you waiting for, you better give him some seriously good sex and hold on to him.

Bonnie smiled and turned to Freddie, "Stud, get the Vaseline out tonight, I'm gonna call you and we're going to have us a little talk," she reached out and rubbed his ass with her hand and winked at him, "damn I wish I was forty or fifty years younger, you would never know what hit you."

As she walked on she yelled at her son, "I may be old son, but that don't mean that I don't get the itch every now and then."

"Well that was funny and surreal at the same time," Freddie laughed.

"Why do I get the feeling that you will be getting an obscene phone call from her?" Sam laughed.

"Because I probably will," he grinned.

The day was perfect. They swam and threw a Frisbee around, laid out and got some sun and then Sam and Freddie played volleyball with some frat boys.

The game was close, but Freddie and Sam proved too much for the boys and after winning two games, the couple could find no one to play them.

Carly found a group of boys that were willing to follow her everywhere and went to spend time in the water.

Sam and Freddie lay back on their towels and soaked up the sun.

"You think Carly knows that she's getting a reputation around school as a flirt?" Freddie said as he rolled his head to look at Sam.

Sam sat up, using her elbows as support and shot Freddie a look, "Really, guys are saying that about her?"

"Well yeah," Freddie looked at her and then they both sat up and looked at Carly standing in the water laughing as the four guys around her shamelessly showed off for her, "she twirls the hair, bats the eyelashes, gives out the "I'm so innocent "looks, and does the "you're so funny" half hearted push-away, that yeah, she's getting the rep."

As they watched Carly perform every act that Freddie had mentioned for the boys around her, they both laughed. Sam turned, toward Freddie, a smile on her face, and asked, "What do they say about me?"

"Nothing, if they know what's good for them," Freddie smiled back at her.

"No, really, what do they say about me?" she pushed.

"Well the general thoughts are that you have got to be a "monster lay" that could make "a dead man cum", or words to that effect," Freddie grinned as he adjusted himself on the blanket and relaxed.

Sam did the same thing, smiling to herself at the idea of men finding her so attractive. She also wondered most of all what Freddie thought about her.

"So, ever hear anything said about me, I mean besides that I'm a nerd or a geek?" he quizzed her.

"You mean besides old women rubbing your ass and wanting to make obscene phone calls to you, or the fact that every woman at this beach went rubbery in the legs the moment you took your shirt off, or the fact that Carly and I get death threats from every woman on campus because we're with you, other than that, nothing, women don't notice you or even want to know about you," Sam giggled as she spoke.

"Well other than Bonnie," Freddie smiled, "I haven't seen anyone knocking my door down for a date.

"Well I got myself a date with Rich tonight," Carly grinned as she walked up and sat down on her towel.

"Damn Carly, which of the four guys you were talking to is Rich?" Sam sat up and stared at her.

"Oh no, he was a guy that I met walking back up to you guys," Carly smiled, as Sam shot Freddie a raised eyebrow look and grinned at him.

"Flirting Carly," Sam laughed, "I can see it in the yearbook, "Girl most likely to flirt", Carly Shay. Sound about right to you nub?"

"I refuse to answer on the grounds that I may incriminate myself," Freddie laughed, raising up on his elbows and looking at both women.

"And just what did you mean by that crack you two?" Carly asked just a little upset.

"Let Sir Galahad over there explain it, I'm going to go get us a smoothie," Sam laughed as she hoped up and walked toward the concession area. She turned around once halfway to the stands and caught Freddie checking her out and felt a blush break out on her face. She rounded the corner still looking at Freddie and bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm so sorry, "she said as she turned around to see that she had bumped into a guy she knew from history class, "oh, crap you're in my history class, um…,"

"Harry, Harry Shell, um… Sam, Sam Puckett… right?"

Sam extended her hand and said, "Yes, I'm so sorry, I was watching someone and just wasn't looking where I was going."

"Lucky someone," Harry smiled and took her hand.

.

"The guys around here really think that about me?" Carly looked horrified at the thought of being seen as a flirt, "I mean, I know I am, but I don't want people thinking that about me. I just like people, well, I like guys and want them to like me, but it's not like I put out for all of them or something."

"Believe me Carly," Freddie stopped her, "no one is calling you an easy lay, just a… um…"

"A prick teases!" Carly snapped, "That is what they call me isn't it?"

"Well, at least they aren't saying you're an easy lay," Freddie tried to make the whole talk sound flattering, which it wasn't.

"Oh well, being known as a "cock tease" is much more preferable than a "slut"!" she fumed, "God, I can't believe all these jerks think that about me."

"Carly not every guy thinks that," Freddie turned his head and watched Sam walking away from them and found himself lost in her beauty. She turned around and busted him looking at her and he felt a blush creep across his face.

He looked up and found Carly staring at him with a smile on her face, "Could you want that girl anymore?"

"Who, Sam, I don't know what you're talking about?" Freddie tried to cover.

"Oh please, even if you didn't have what is a very impressive tent in your swimsuit right now, the look you had on your face while you were looking at her would give it away," Carly grinned at him.

"What are you talking about Carly?" Freddie said, placing a hand down to cover the erection in his swimsuit, "Sam and I are just friends and I'm a married, well widowed man."

"Yeah, a young widowed man who is deeply in love with his best friend, who just happens to be as deeply in love with you," Carly grinned at him, "Freddie, Noel told you she didn't want you to hideaway after she was gone, it's been over two months now, you don't have to feel guilty about liking Sam. You have mourned Noel long enough, it doesn't make you a bad person to want Sam. I can't even begin imagine how hard it must be to lose the person you're in love with like that, but I do know that you have been a rock through it all. No one in the world could blame you or judge you for moving on and finding someone who you could be happy with."

Freddie stood up and looked at Carly, then leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I think I'll go to the restroom and then see if Sam needs a hand with those smoothies."

Carly giggled as she watched him walk toward the concession stands. Finally those two just might get it right and get together. She watched him go and began to think about what she was going to do about the flirt label that she had attached to her name.

.

Harry shook Sam's hand and then smiled at her, "So what brings such a pretty girl as yourself out to the beach alone today?"

"Oh I'm not alone, I'm here with friends," Sam smiled at him, "I'm just picking us up some smoothies to drink."

"Well then, may I offer you a hand in getting them and taking them back to your friends?" he asked.

"Thanks, but I got it," she told him.

"Well listen then, would you be interested in maybe going out for drinks tonight, say six-thirty or sevenish," he asked, leaning against a post blocking her way.

.

Freddie was just about to round the corner when he heard Sam talking to someone.

.

"I really can't," she said, "I'm helping a good friend who just lost his wife, and I don't want to leave him alone right now," Sam told him, not wanting to get into the mechanics of her feelings for Freddie with this complete stranger.

"Well then maybe later, or I could swing by your place later and we could go out after he goes to sleep," Harry leaned in and kissed her.

.

Freddie walked around the corner and saw the two of them kissing and in an instance felt he had fallen back into the invisible friend zone. Sam was just being nice because of Noel, she really didn't have any interest in him romantically at all. He turned and headed back toward Carly.

.

Sam pushed Harry away and slapped him, "Did I ask you to stick your tongue down my throat, jackass?"

"Hey baby, no need to get physical, you were sending out this "kiss me vibe" and you were all smiling at me and looking so hot in the blue…," he explained, but was cut off by a sharp blow to the solar plexuses that sent him to the sand gasping for breath.

"Tell me STUD, what fucking signal am I sending out to you NOW?" she bent and shouted in his ear.

The crowd that gathered around them laughed and made several crude remarks at Harry's expense.

Sam walked on to the stand and bought three smoothies and headed back to Carly and Freddie. When she arrived she noticed that Freddie was dressing and packing things up.

"Is something wrong?" she asked and noticed Carly moving her shoulders around in an "I don't know" motion, "Are we leaving? I thought we were staying for awhile."

Freddie turned and gave her a small, almost sad smile, "I've got some things that I need to do today. I've been putting them off for awhile, but I think I need to finish them today."

"Ok, this is kind of sudden, but if you need to then you need to," Sam smiled, unsure of what was going on or what had happened.

The drive back to the apartment was quiet. Freddie spent the whole trip in the backseat, just looking out the window, lost in some thought that he wouldn't or couldn't share with the women. When they arrived, Freddie went to the closet and removed his suitcase and stunned the women by heading into the room he had shared with Noel, the room he hadn't set foot in since her death. Sam and Carly walked to the door and saw that he was packing up all his things.

"What 'ca doing Freddie?" Sam asked, very confused.

"Look, I have a perfectly good house sitting empty, and I've been leaching off the two of you far to long," He told her, "It's been over two months since Noel passed, I need to move forward, and try to get my life back on track. You girls have put your lives on hold to help me, and it's time I go home. You girls aren't going to get many dates while I'm living here," he zipped the suitcase and walked it to the front door, "I've no right to keep the two of you from dating and stuff. I have no way to tell you how grateful I am to the both of you, except to go home and get out of your hair so you two can start living your lives."

"When the hell did you think of this?" Sam asked somewhere in tone between anger and sadness.

"I began to think about it a week or so ago," he lied, "but it all came together at the beach today."

"Freddie, you're not in the way," Carly told him, "Do you see guys lined up and beating the door down for us?"

"Probably because I'm here," he set the last of his things by the door.

He turned to both women and reached for Carly and gave her a bear hug and a kiss on the forehead. He then turned to Sam, "Thank you both for taking care of me while I was down," he hugged her harder and longer than he did Carly, and then kissed her cheek and whispered, "I know that the right guy is out there for you, so now you can look for him. Find one who will love you and treat you like the princess that you are."

He let her go, picked up his stuff and turned around one last time, "I'm going to be real busy over the next few days, but I will talk to you guys next Friday."

He turned back to the door and opened it and left the apartment. Sam felt like someone had taken a bat and shattered her heart. She turned to Carly and laid her head on her shoulder and began to cry.

"Why Carly?" she asked between sobs, "why is he leaving us, what happened?"

"I don't know honey, but I promise we'll figure it out," Carly soothed her with a back rub.

.

.

Freddie opened the front door and was struck by the stale odor in the house. He sat his things down by the door and began to walk through the rooms. Noel seemed to be everywhere. It felt like she was right beside him. He also found that Sam had now cheeped into his thoughts. He was far more hurt than he had said to Sam. He loved her, but he knew she didn't share those thoughts, and between that pain and the pain of losing Noel, Freddie spent the night on the couch in his house, silently crying.

.

.

Well, I hope you liked it. Sorry for taking so long. Tamathy and I were both upset at the way iLove you ended. We really hope that they will keep them together or at least get them back together.

I thought that they needed some more drama before I begin to wrap the story up.

As always, let me know what you think.


	16. What do I do now?

What do I do now?

Fred spent the week after moving back home working overly long days at Pear and nights trying to settle back into his home. Thoughts of Noel and Sam mixed in his dreams and he found that nothing he did would wipe the desire to see her, touch her, and kiss her go away. He found that he couldn't escape thoughts of either woman, and felt guilty because of it.

He had worked with his new team at Pear and the first of his new emergency apps were heading toward the market by the end of the month. His water proof phone was ready for a July release, and he finally felt like he belonged in the position that Stan had placed him in. He found most of the people who he worked with, well who worked for him, were truly very nice and made work fun. He was able to focus on the technology that had always been his crutch. He had turned to it when his father had died and it lead him into the best thing that had happened to him in his teens, iCarly and straight into the first of the two loves of his life, Sam Puckett.

He had hated her with a passion at first, at least he thought it was hate, but the passion turned into something other than hate when they both shared their first kiss. They went from sworn enemies to begrudging friends and then to something neither one of them knew how to describe. They spent a great deal of time together, hanging out and talking, and knew each other better than most couples did, but could never find the right way to let the other know that they were in more than a serious like with each other.

He spent his evenings on the computer or watching T.V. alone. He had to fight the urge to call and talk to Sam. It was Wednesday night and once again he had his phone in hand, contemplating calling her, but decided against it. He went to bed at eight and lay awake looking at the ceiling.

Sam spent the days after Freddie's move in a major funk. She wore a pair of sweatpants and tee-shirt, and just sat around the apartment all day. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what had happened, what had turned what looked like a very promising beginning of a relationship with Freddie into his moving out and not calling. She was at a loss to explain it, and it was killing her.

.

Fred walked into the office Thursday morning looking like he had been on a three day drunk. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, his hair looked like he had driven to work with his head out the window, and he looked like he had swapped cloths with a homeless man. He walked by Stan Whites office and Stan shouted at him as he walked by.

"Fred, step in here for a minute," he said, as Fred walked into the office, "Jesus Fred, what the hell is wrong with you. You look like shit, you feeling alright?"

Fred smiled, half-hearted at best, and nodded, "I fine, I just moved back into the house this week, and I still a little shaky I guess."

"Understandable," Stan shook his head, "but what else is wrong?"

"Nothing, really, nothing else is bothering me," Fred didn't make eye contact with him.

"Hum, I smell bullshit and it's coming from you," Stan raised his eyebrows and shook his head at Fred, "You really suck at lying. Tell me what's really going on, not as your boss, but as a friend who owes you his life."

Fred looked at the floor and began to fidget, rubbing his hands together and looking everywhere but at Stan. He finally seemed to make up his mind and sat down in the chair that was in front of the desk. He still had not made eye contact with his boss, but Stan decided to give him a little more time before he started pushing him again.

"Stan, I just don't know what I'm supposed to do now," Fred finally spoke in a low tone, "I still hurt about Noel, but now I've got this whole other thing happening and I feel like the world's biggest asshole. I mean it's only been two to two and a half months since Noel died and I still see and hear her everywhere, but Sam is popping up in my head now. I know she doesn't like me "that way", but still I can't get her out of my head. You see why I'm so fucked up; I mean what kind of unfeeling sick bastard is thinking about a new woman when his wife isn't even cold yet. I almost kissed her last week, I damn near went into her room to make out with her, and I start having sex with Noel in my dreams, and somewhere during the dream she turns into Sam, add to that I heard her talking to some guy on the beach about not going out with him because she was watching after a "friend" who lost his wife and saw then kiss! Add it all up and I'm a sick perverted S.O.B. and I feel like a piece of pond scum!"

"Wow," Stan sat back in his chair, "that's some pretty heavy shit to be toting around Fred. This Sam is the one we talked about before, right?"

Fred shook his head yes.

"Have you said anything to her about how you feel?" Stan folded his hands and placed his thumbs under his chin so that his hands rested on his nose, "Just because she was talking to some guy doesn't mean that if you told her how you feel that she wouldn't drop everything and come to you. As for the time line, who says how long you should spend grieving? My mother died still grieving for my dad, she retreated into this cocoon and never came out of it. She was a non-entity in my life after I was twelve right up till she died when I was sixteen. I know you hurt and you feel guilty for having thoughts about your friend, but Fred if Noel loved you as much as you loved her, I'm sure she would be fine with this. You can't let something great slip through your hands just because you think someone would think it was inappropriate. Fuck 'em all and go with your heart Fred. Do you know what the word emancipation means?"

"To be free or to set free?" Fred wondered where this line of advice was going.

"Exactly," Stan smiled, "when we were on that mountain we should have died, but we lived. I don't know about you, but I was sure that we were going to die and I made my peace with that. Every day that has come since then is extra; we've been set free, emancipated, from death. You can make your life whatever you want it to be. Haven't you felt different since the mountain?"

Fred nodded his head, "I never really thought about it before, with so much going on, but now that you mention it, I don't feel the same."

Stan shook his head, "Everything else seems small after facing death. You got a second chance at life, now take the next few months off, go make that girl your own and love her with everything you have."

Fred stood up and walked out of the office. Stan stood and watched him walk toward the elevators and yelled at him, "Go get her son!"

Fred turned and smiled and then began to walk a little quicker toward the elevators. When the doors opened to the parking lot, he ran to his car and drove as fast as he could toward the apartment. He didn't bother to park just pulled up to the steps and put the emergency brake on and bounded up the steps three and four at a time. He began to pound on the door and kept pounding on it till Carly opened the door.

Carly was pissed when she opened the door and was stunned when Freddie pushed her aside and began to walk back to Sam's room.

"She's not here Freddie, She's gone to the movies with Kate and Susan.

Kate and Susan were the girls that lived one floor down from Sam and Carly, nice girls but wild as hell.

Freddie sat down on the couch and ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair as he blew out a long breath, "Does she really like that guy from the beach?"

"What guy?" Carly looked confused.

The guy I heard her talking to and saw her kiss," he stated.

"Freddie are you drunk?" Carly asked him, a look of concern on her face, "Sam's not seeing anyone and she hasn't talked about any guy from the beach or anywhere else for that matter. The only man she talks about is you. If she's seeing anyone then she's doing so quietly."

"Carly, I saw her kissing some guy and heard her tell him that she was watching out for a "friend" and couldn't go out with him that night," Freddie stared right in her eyes, "I'm not making this shit up, I saw it with my own two eyes."

"Then there is a perfectly good excuse for it," Carly shook her head, "Wait a minute, is that why you suddenly just had to get out of here?"

Freddie kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing.

"You dumb son of a bitch," Carly shouted at him as she slapped his shoulders and head, "that's it isn't it? Did I not tell you that she was in love with you, did that not register in that thick skull of yours?"

"Ok, so you told me, but she still was kissing that guy, what was I suppose to think?"

"How about asking a goddamn question instead of just assuming something dumbass?" Carly scolded him, "I swear, you two manage to take the simplest thing in the world and turn it into some kind of epic fuck up. You both belong together just because you're both so stupid."

"Ok, so I fucked up," Freddie stood and paced back and forth in front of Carly, "Do you think I still have a chance to get her back?"

Carly slapped him so hard that she left a hand print on his face, "Are you fucking deaf, YES YOU HAVE A FUCKING SHOT MORON, SHE FUCKING LOVES YOU!"

Freddie rubbed the cheek that Carly had slapped and started to ask her something, but she cut him off, "Do you have some kind of plan, or are you running around half cocked?" she asked him, "Because besides being hurt she's a little pissed at you, just like I am."

"I thought maybe I would plead temporary insanity maybe throw in the "not sure you felt the same way" card," Freddie smiled at her.

"Yeah, the insanity might work," Carly sat down beside him, "The "not sure" thing will earn you kick to the nuts. I should tell you that I set her up with date for tomorrow night, Luke's roommate, so we could double date. I thought it would be good to get her out of the apartment. She's moped around here all week thanks to you."

Freddie felt a flash of inspiration and broke out in a grin, "Do you think you could get the guys to take you to "The Black Hole "after dinner?"

"I could," she told him, "why?"

"I just came up with a plan," he smiled, "and I might be able to pull my head out of my ass after all."

"All I'm gonna say to you is that you two had better not fuck this up this time," Carly took Freddie's hand and rubbed his hand, "You two have got to be the most made for each other people on the planet, but you both have the knack of missing the boat when it comes to getting together. If you fuck this up again, I'm going to cut your nuts off and her tits and feed them to sharks. I mean it Freddie, I can't take much more of this "ships passing in the night" shit, get it right!"

There was a knock at the door and Carly got up to answer it. A tall policeman stood at the door, "Excuse me miss, but do you know anything about the car that was blocking the steps to this building?"

Freddie stood up and walked to the door, "I'm sorry officer, it belongs to me, I'll go move it."

"No sir, I don't think you will," the cop smiled at him as Carly played with her hair and smiled at him, "It's now parked in the sandwich shop across the street."

"Of course it is," Freddie groaned, "Please tell me no one was hurt."

"No one was hurt, but I'm afraid the shop is toast," the cop told him as he removed his sunglasses and grinned at Carly, "The fire department was able to put out the fire, but not before the kitchen burned up."

"Can I offer you something to drink Officer Daniels?" Carly smiled at him and twisted her hair in her hands.

"Hal, you can call me Hal Mrs. …?"

"Miss Shay, Carly Shay."

Freddie just shook his head and started to leave, "Well I'll just go and see the sandwich shop I just bought. Carly, "The Black Hole" tomorrow night, don't forget."

"Sure thing," she said absent mindedly as she stared at Hal.

"Christ, if she got paid by the flirt, she'd be fucking rich," Freddie said under his breath as he headed back downstairs to the surreal sight of his car sticking halfway in the "Park and Eat Deli" shop. The irony of the shops name and where his car was wasn't lost on him, and despite himself, he laughed. He pulled out his phone and placed a call, "Hey, Mike, its Freddie, listen I need a favor from you."

.

.

Sam wasn't in a very good mood. She wasn't sure just how Carly had talked her into this double date shit. Only Carly could have made her go along with this. She wanted nothing to do with this Dan that she was supposed to be going with; she was still trying to figure out where things had gone wrong with Freddie.

She had promised Carly she would be nice and so far she had been. She guessed Dan was a nice enough guy, but the wow factor was zero with him. She found that no one really compared to the specter that Freddie cast over her life. She was really trying to be nice to this guy, but he was so fucking boring that it made her want to shove chopsticks in her ears so she wouldn't have to listen to anymore of his pointless stories of how the stock market was just so "Exciting" and interesting. She made motion at Carly and then excused herself to go to the restroom. Carly excused herself and joined her.

"Carly, I can't take much more of this, paint drying would be more exciting than this loser. I'm going to have to go home. I'm sorry, but if I don't, I may have to choke a nerd up in this motherfucker!"

"Sam you can't do that just yet, please. Just stick around till we get to "The Black Hole" and have a drink, then I promise I'll get you out of having to be with him for the rest of the night, Deal?" Carly begged her.

"Shay, you owe me big time. Well let's get back to the table so Mr. Excitement can make hot with his sexy talk about "bull market". I feel myself getting wet already at the thought of it," Sam rolled her eyes at Carly.

"Ew… gross Sam," Carly made a discussed face at her, "You're so charming."

"Yeah, fuck you Carly," Sam smiled at her and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

Carly smiled as Sam walked away and thought to herself, 'Freddie, you better not fuck this up. Please lord, let these two finally get it right.'

.

.

"The Black Hole" was packed, as it always was on Friday night, but Mike Kaiser, the leader of "Mike and the Zombies, had a table reserved for them by the stage. He met them just after they entered, almost like he was waiting for them, Sam thought. He talked quietly with Carly and she smiled and they took her date, some dude named Glen, Dan, and herself to the table.

Mike disappeared behind the stage as the manager of the bar took the stage.

"Alright animals, once again put your hands together for Mike and the Zombies!" he yelled.

The band took the stage and Mike walked to the microphone and spoke, "Thank you everyone, before we get started I'd like to tell you that we have a new member of the band who is performing here for the first time tonight. So put your hands together and really give it up for him and this special song that is going out to Sam Puckett! I give you Fred Benson!"

Sam felt a jolt of electricity shoot threw her body, causing her to sit up straight in her chair. She shot a look at Carly, who was smiling, and knew that she had help set this up. Freddie walked to the mic and Sam and most of the women in the room, Carly included, gasped as they saw him. Six foot three, short cropped dark brown hair, dark brown almost black eyes, leather pants that showed pretty much everything underneath them, and a black mesh shirt that showed the hairy, toned, and chiseled chest and ab's.

Sam felt herself melt and in the same instant get so angry with him that she wanted to slap the living shit out of him. He had just left her, with no word why or even a call afterwards to explain himself at all. 'I should slap him hard and then push him down, and get in his face, and grab his massive shoulders and then sit on top of him and run my hands over his chest and then bite his shoulder, and then lick the spot and rip the shirt off of him and free that snake he keeps in his pants and… and… and…' she suddenly found herself standing at the front of the stage looking into his eyes.

"I've had a hell of a year," he spoke into the mic but never took his eyes off of Sam, "I stood up for myself, I lost my mother, I fell in love, I got my dream job, almost died in a plane crash, got married, Lost my wife to cancer, and discovered that I had spent my whole life trying to please almost everyone that I knew but myself," he stepped back on the stage, but kept looking at Sam, "I don't give a damn if you are dating someone else, I don't give a shit if you think he's the one, because I know he's not. I've been through every break up you have ever had, I've taken care of you through broken hearts and every kind of mishap that love can throw at you, and you know in your heart of hearts, I'm dependable, sturdy, and loyal. I don't give my heart away easily and I don't fall in love every day, but for the second time in my life I'm in love, and this is for you."

The music began to play and the soft melody forced Sam to stand still and stare at Freddie as he began to sing. The entire bar had fallen into a hushed silence.

You remind me I live in a shell,  
>Safe from the past,<br>and doing' okay,  
>but not very well.<br>No jolts, no surprises,  
>No crisis arises:<br>My life goes along as it should;  
>it's all very nice,<br>but not very good.

Sam felt the heat rise on her face and body as she watched him sing and stare only at her. His voice was low and sensual as he sang and it left her with a warm feeling in her stomach.

And I'm ready to take a Chance Again,  
>Ready to put my love on the line with you.<br>Been living with nothing to show for it;  
>You get what you get when you go for it,<br>And I'm Ready To Take Chance Again with you.

Sam felt her heart flip over in her chest and the butterflies loosen themselves in her stomach. He was telling her he wanted to give them a try; he really wanted to be with her! She found herself frozen in place, unable to do what her heart told her to do, which was run to him and kiss him. She didn't want to, but she felt tears roll down her face as he stepped down and stood in front of her. He smiled.

When she left me in all my despair,  
>I just held on,<br>my hopes were all gone.  
>Then I found you there.<br>And I'm Ready To Take A Chance Again  
>Ready to Take a Chance Again with you,<br>with you.

I'm ready to take a Chance Again,  
>Ready to put my love on the line with you.<br>Been living with nothing to show for it;  
>You get what you get when you go for it,<br>And I'm Ready To Take Chance Again with you

Freddie put the mic down on the stage and the bar was quiet. He looked at Sam and was about to speak when Dan put his hand on his shoulder and spun him around, "Hey buddy, this girl is here with me, I paid for her dinner and she's staying with me."

Before Sam's fist could leave her side, Freddie placed his hand on it and she felt a calming force flow through her.

"How much did you pay for dinner dude?" Freddie asked him with a smile on his face.

"Fifty-five dollars, why?" Dan asked Freddie in a huff.

Freddie pulled his wallet out and produced a hundred dollar bill and a twenty and stuffed them in Dan's shirt pocket, "There, that's double what you paid, now I paid for dinner and even paid for yours. Now be a good boy and go away."

Freddie raised his hand to Sam's face and brushed the tears away with his thumb and began to lean down toward her.

"Hey, I don't give a shit how much money you shove in my pocket, Dan Schneider leaves with the woman he brought, and she leaves with me, got it, BOY!" Dan threw back his arms in a show of his strength, but failed miserably at it.

Sam stepped in front of Freddie before he could stop her and she pushed Dan back and stood toe to toe with him and yelled in his face, "Listen DAN, I've spent over fifteen years of my life fucking up every chance I've ever had to make a go with this man, and I got a chance to finally do it right, if you in any way cause a problem that keeps me from spending the rest of the night with this man and freeing the rather large anaconda that seems to be trapped in his pants, I will pull every pubic hair you have out one at a time with a pair of rusty pliers and then get MEDIEVAL ON YOUR ASS! Now go rent a porn and jack off, cause I need a good sound fucking, and Fred here is the man to do it!" Sam shoved Dan hard and turned back to Freddie.

He said nothing; he just smiled at her then scooped her up in his arms and began to walk toward the door. She slid her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

Freddie looked at her as the crowd began to whistle and catcall at them, "We have a lot to talk about baby," as he lowered his head and kissed her passionately.

.

.

.

Sorry, but Tamathy showed me last week that I wasn't as hideous as I thought I was. I'll let you dear readers make of that what you will! We are just about there, I may have to change the rating with the next chapter, or I could not write that part. You let me know. As always, let me know what you think!

I want to give credit to pigwiz for the "sound fucking" line. It's from "Isn't that my shirt?" I think pigwiz is the greatest writer I have read. She has been beyond kind to me and you should read her stuff, it's amazing.

Also read Sam's Journey, it's truely amazing also


	17. What Took You So Long?

What took you so long?

They pulled out of the bar's parking lot and drove toward Freddie's house. He slowed down as they passed the apartment building and Sam noticed that the sandwich shop across the street looked like it was being rebuilt or something and had a sign out front that said "opening soon "Sam's Deli". She laughed and turned to Freddie, "Did you see that sign, they named a deli after me. I wonder what happened to the shop that was there, they had fantastic subs."

"Uh… yeah, I kind of HAD to buy the store and rebuild it so I decided to give it to you and rename it," he turned a little red in the face and smiled at her.

"Why did you HAVE to buy it?" Sam asked with a grin on her face.

"Well you see it's like this," Freddie started, "I came over here yesterday to talk to you, but you were gone. Anyway, I pulled up close to the stairs and put the emergency brake on but left it in gear. Long story short, the brake failed and said car plowed into the sandwich shop. No one was hurt, but the damage was pretty bad so I bought the place out and I'm having it rebuilt and giving it to you to run. Try not to eat all the profits, ok?"

Sam laughed at him and shook her head, "You didn't have to do that Freddie, but thanks.

Sam found that she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. She couldn't believe that she had almost thrown away the chance of a lifetime with him. She didn't understand how she could have not noticed how handsome, smart, and caring a man he really was.

Freddie pulled the car into the driveway of his house and turned to Sam, "Wait right there," he smiled at her and got out of the car. He walked around and opened her door and helped her out of the car. He smiled at her and took her hand, leading her to the front door. Never letting go of her hand, he put the key in the door and opened it. After putting the keys in his pocket he scooped her up like a bride and carried her into the house, using his foot to close the door. He walked to the back bedroom, his and Noel's bedroom, and for the first time in over two months, he opened the door to the room and carried Sam in and sat her gently on the bed.

"Sam I need to say some things and I need you to let me say them without interrupting me, ok?" Freddie paced back and forth in front of her, "I promise, I won't say a word," Sam looked him in the eyes and knew this was going to be a life changing conversation, no matter which way it went.

"I've known you most of my life," Freddie began, "and to say we have had tumultuous relationship would be putting it mildly. We've done almost everything together and I think it's safe to say, I know more about you than you know about yourself. When I came and got you that night, after you found Dean cheating on you, I wanted to kill him. All those nights I held you as you cried, I went from just being in love with you to hopelessly in love with you. I wanted so much to tell you, but I didn't want to be a rebound romance, and then you shattered my world when you started to go after Brad. It hurt me more than anything ever had before. It used to kill me to hear you making love to guys in your room, but when you came home with Brad that night, I wanted to die, and a part of me did."

Sam felt the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at him. She could see in his eyes the pain that was still there and she felt ashamed of herself, because she had not really wanted Brad, but she was too scared to go after Freddie. She knew the whole time that it was a mistake, but Sam rarely admitted when she made a mistake, and had stayed with Brad for three months rather than admit it.

Freddie looked at her, bending down so that his face was in front of hers, "I thought I had lost you for good then. When mom got sick and you and Carly weren't there for me, I really wanted to hate both of you, and did for awhile. Then the inevitable happened, and the romance fizzled out and you both came to me to cry on my shoulder. I wanted to tell both of you to go to hell, but that's not me, that's not who I am. So I let you both vent and bit my tongue and said nothing at all. I'm bring all this up Sam because I want you to know what you're about to get into here. When I was on that mountain, the only two things that ran through my mind were Noel and you, and you crossed my mind more than her, and you know how much I loved her."

"I'm not going to go away in a month, two months, a year, or ever. I died Sam, twice, and I know it sounds crazy, but I've talked with death and I'm not scared of it anymore. It told me that it wasn't my time to go because I still had things to do here. I know what I'm here to do, I'm here to love you, to hold you, and make myself into the best husband you could ever have. I'm not here just for tonight, or next week, or next year, I'm here forever. That is what I'm prepared to do for US, what I need to know before we go any farther is, what are you prepared to do for US?"

His eyes burned with a passion that Sam had only dreamed about. This was the moment that she had known would come once in her life, and she was scared to death. This wasn't a boy that was looking at her and speaking, this was a MAN, a man who knew exactly what he wanted and wasn't going to accept anything less. His eyes told her that magic awaited her if she was strong enough to accept it. She had spent her whole life wondering if this would happen and it scared her to know that suddenly it was here right in front of her.

She reached out her hand and cupped his face, "For so long, I was afraid of how much I felt for you, so afraid that if I gave in that somehow I'd lose myself and that scared me, so I ran, I tried to find what I knew I had in you with others, but all I found was heartache and misery. Every time, you picked me up and dusted me off and put me back together and off I went, running again. You've always scared me Freddie because no matter what I did, you were always there for me. I never had that in my whole life and I didn't know what to do with that. After you called me and Carly out at the bar that night, I replayed my whole life in my head and found that no matter what I did, you were always there. While you were in England it finally hit me just how much I really loved you and how much I stood to lose. When you got off that plane with Noel I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach, pretty much like you must have felt about Brad."

"I'm through running Freddie, I'm tired and I know that anything less than you will never do for me. I'm empty, I need your love to fill me up."

Freddie, still looking in her eyes, leaned in and delicately kissed her lips. He then pulled back and ran his hands on either side of her face, "Last call," he smiled, "You can still back out, but beyond this point, it's you and me for life."

She smiled at him and sighed, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Sam stood as Freddie rose up and they stood in front of each other. Freddie walked over to the stereo and started a song and walked back to her and pulled her close to him and began to dance to the slow rhythm.

The first time ever I saw your face  
>I thought the sun rose in your eyes<br>and the moon and stars were the gifts you gave  
>to the dark and the empty skies, my love,<br>to the dark and the empty skies.

Freddie lowered his mouth to hers and began to kiss her softly on the lips. Sam moaned as the kiss began to deepen. She felt the straps of her dress slide down off each shoulder slowly as Freddie began to dart his tongue around her mouth, playfully playing tag with her tongue. Sam broke the kiss long enough to remove Freddie's shirt, and then resumed kissing him again.

The first time ever I kissed your mouth  
>And felt your heart beat close to mine<br>Like the trembling heart of a captive bird  
>That was there at my command, my love<br>That was there at my command.

Freddie softly brought his right hand up and gently rubbed Sam's left breast through her bra. She moaned as he slowly rubbed circles around the breast. When they broke the kiss, Sam reached back and unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor. She trembled as she looked into his eyes, they appeared black, and she saw a fire and passion that she had never seen before in a man. It was an almost animalistic stare and it was at the same time tender, she had no fear; she was going to follow where ever those eyes took her. She had expected their first time to be a rushed, physical free for all, but instead he was tender and slow.

He looked down at her breast and smiled as he bent and began to kiss around her neck and down along the pulse line. A low primal moan of pleasure escaped her lips and he licked and kissed her gently. He brought his left hand up and began to massage her right breast slowly working his way from the outer part of it toward her nipple. She felt her heart race as she reached out and ran her right hand up and down his hairy chest.

He bent down and took the nipple of her right breast in his mouth and flicked his tongue across it, causing Sam to rise up on her tiptoes as she felt the rush of endorphins as he did so. Sam reached down and undid Freddie's belt and unbuttoned his pants. Freddie looked up at her and smiled; one that reminded her of the look a child gives just before he does something he knows is bad. He raised his eyebrow over his left eye and said in a low sensual voice, "Take your time, we're going to be at this ALL NIGHT LONG sweetpea," he then gave her a deep throaty laugh that sent Goosebumps up her spine and made her wet and hot.

And the first time ever I lay with you  
>I felt your heart so close to mine<br>And I knew our joy would fill the earth  
>And last till the end of time my love<br>It would last till the end of time my love

He pushed her down on the bed and lifted her legs so that he could remove her underwear. She now laid before him nude, her hair sprawled out behind her. He stood over her and looked at her body and then locked eyes with her, "My God Sam, you're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

Sam felt the heat of the blush that formed on her face. She looked up at him and for the first time in her life felt true, old fashioned movie kind of love.

Freddie unzipped his pants and pulled them down and kicked them to the side. Sam sat up on her elbows and stared at him as he pulled his boxers down. Her eyes went wide as she finally saw his cock for the first time. Noel had not exaggerated about the size or width. Sam felt a moment of fear, she had never seen one so big and had certainly never had one that size before. Brad looked like a minnow compared to Freddie's "Moby Dick", she smiled at her own pun. She rose up off the bed and took it in her hand and began to stroke it as she leered up at him. She gently began to lick down the shaft and back up before she opened and took the head into her mouth and began to lick and suck at it. Freddie took a sharp breath and moaned as she began to worship him with her mouth. She felt herself getting more and more turned on as she felt him grow in her mouth.

The first time ever I saw your face, your face,  
>your face, your face<p>

Freddie had never felt anything as wonderful as the way Sam's mouth felt on him now. She slowly worked her mouth up and down the shaft, stopping every so often to look up at him, staring into his dark eyes, and finding herself aroused at the passion that was locked in them. She used one hand to stroke his member as she ran her other one up and down his chest and stomach, loving the feel of his hairy chest on her hands.

Sam took him out of her mouth with an exaggerated "pop" sound and Freddie gently pushed her back down on the bed, before climbing on the bed standing on his knees. He lifted her up, and slowly rotated her so that her sex was at his mouth and her face was near his member.

"You are a truly a devious and sexy man Mr. Benson," Sam told him.

He answered her by licking her inner thighs, causing her to shudder and moan. He began to lick around her mound and pulled her open so that his tongue could lick around inside her. He quickly found her clit and began to lick it and punch it with his tongue. Sam went crazy, the pleasure driving her insane. She moaned and reached for his cock and began to lick it again. She was totally at his mercy now, upside down, his mouth doing things to her that no one had ever done to her before, and her mouth filled with his member.

The first orgasm came a minute later when Freddie began sucking and pulling on her clit. It felt like an atomic blast. It shook her to the core of her being. She had never had an orgasm that powerful before. She took him out of her mouth and began to scream, "OH FUCK… FREDDIE SHIT… MMM… AAHH… SO FUCKING GOOD BABY… YES… YES… OOOOOHHHH MMMMYYYYY GGGGGOOOODDDD!"

Freddie kept licking her, not letting her squirm out of his control, and was rewarded with another ear shattering orgasm from her a minute after the first one. Sam lost her mind; Freddie was making her feel like she never had before. Every "man" she had ever been with was always about getting themselves off and if she did then so much the better.

Freddie began to insert his index finger slowly into Sam and used his tongue and thumb to rub her clit. Sam was still shaking from the second orgasm when the third rolled over her like a wave. She was just making noise now, she couldn't get her brain to form words. She began to buck and writhe in ecstasy as Freddie continued to use him tongue to effortlessly send Sam from orgasm to orgasm, almost at will.

After the fifth one he gentle turned her back up and laid her on the bed again. He began to kiss her cheek and work his way down her neck. He kissed and licked her pulse line and then lowered himself so he could take her left nipple in his mouth again.

"Oh my God Freddie," Sam panted, "I want, I need you inside me baby, please.

Freddie kissed his way back up till he was looking her in the eyes, "God Sam, I've never wanted anything as much as I want you right now," Freddie said as he placed himself at her entrance to her sex, "I've loved you for so long sweetpea.

He slowly began to enter her and she moaned as they stared into each other's eyes. The two of them said nothing, just stared at each other. Sam couldn't believe how amazing it felt to have Freddie slowly sliding in and out of her. She lost herself in his eyes and hoped that she would never be found. She knew that this is what making love to someone should be and feel like. His eyes began to push her over the edge and she came again. It no longer took much from him to push her over the edge now.

"You feel so good sweetpea," Freddie whispered in her ear as he began thrust into just a bit faster.

"Oh my God Freddie, you make me feel so good," Sam whispered back to him, "I've wasted so much time looking for what I wanted when it was right in front of me all the time."

As he leaned down to kiss her, another song began to play:

Come bring me your softness  
>Comfort me through all this madness<br>Woman, don't you know  
>with you I'm born again<p>

Freddie continued to slide in and out of her at the same pace, as he leaned down and took her right nipple in his mouth and suck and lick it. He very gently took the nipple in between his teeth and lightly pulled on it. Sam moaned, "Oh shit Freddie, God you're so good. Please don't stop, it's so fucking good, AAAAAHHHHH, oh shit, I'm going to cum again, FFFFFFFUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK yes, yes, yes, so fucking great baby, God I love you!"

Come give me your sweetness  
>now there's you, there is no weakness<br>lying safe within your arms  
>I'm born again<p>

Sam was now so sensitive to Freddie's actions that she felt like she was hooked to an orgasm machine. She had never felt such love, both physical and mental, in her life. He never took his eyes off her and she never took her eyes off him. Neither of them could tell where they stopped and the other began.

I was half, not whole  
>in step with none<br>reaching through this world  
>In need of one<p>

Freddie began to pick up the pace a little more as he looked into Sam's eyes. As much as he had loved Noel, the love he felt for Sam was stronger. He was amazed that he felt no guilt about that, but he didn't. He loved how good it felt to in her. He knew that this was he was suppose to do and where he was suppose to be. He felt the pressure of his own orgasm beginning to build, "Oh Sam… shit sweetpea… I'm so close," Freddie knew he was about to lose it now.

Sam had lost count of the number of orgasms she had had, but she was in the middle of another when Freddie exploded inside her, bring her one last orgasm before Freddie pulled out and lay on his back pulling her to him. They both fought for air as Freddie's arms encircled her and she laid her head on his chest rubbing the hair, sighing contently.

"That was amazing baby," Sam spoke when she finally caught her breath, "Jesus, I've never had anything like that before, ever. I blacked out for a minute, seriously baby, that thing needs to be bronzed or something. You're the first man I've ever been with that really knew how to use his dick baby. We've been at it for close to two hours, I can't believe it."

"Why thank you kindly little lady," Freddie adapted a Texas drawl as he said it, "And may I say that you were amazing yourself. God Sam, nothing ever felt as good as it did being in you."

They kissed for awhile and then laid there in the bed, Sam rubbing his chest and Freddie running his hand through Sam's hair and rubbing her back. They fell asleep that way.

With both of their phones cut off, the two of them spent the rest of the weekend watching T.V., making love, eating, making love, talking, making love, and making love. They also spent the time naked.

Sam borrowed Freddie's car on Monday so she could go back to the apartment for some cloths. She climbed the steps and opened the door. Carly came out of the kitchen and glared at her.

"Where the hell have you been all weekend. I've tried to call you at least a hundred times," Carly asked, "I didn't know what happened."

"I was in heaven and as soon as I gather a few things, I'm going back," Sam had a goofy smile on her face and she giggled.

"Oh my God Sam," Carly started to bounce up and down, "You and Freddie had sex!"

"No we made love, ALL WEEKEND LONG," Sam yelled and screamed with Carly as they danced around.

"Deets, I need deets," Carly sat down but still bounced in her seat.

"There are no words Carly," Sam couldn't get the smile off her face, "I wasn't anything like I expected, it was more. God, I lost count of the orgasms and I'm actually a little sore, but not enough to stop. God Carly, he knows what he's doing and he does it very well. He took care of ME, not like other guys, he made sure I got mine. Oh my God I love that man. Why did I wait so long, why didn't I see before just how great he is. I just want to be with him all the time, for the rest of my life."

"What about his size?" Carly asked, "Is he… well like Noel said he was?"

"No, much bigger and he does know what to do with it," Sam grinned, "Well I've got to get some cloths, because I'm going back, for the rest of the week at least."

Sam gathered her cloths and gave Carly a hug as she got ready to leave, "Carly, I'm really in love with him, for the first time in my life, I'm truly in love."

"I know Sam, it shows," Carly smiled at her, "I'm happy for you both, now get out of here and go give him some loving."

Sam smiled, a smile that would light a thousand suns, and winked at Carly, "You're damn Skippy I am!"

.

Well my first lemon, I hope it's ok. As always, let me know what you think. I'll probably wrap this up with one more chapter. I want to try to get two hundred reviews for this.


	18. Six Years Later

Six years later

Sam and Nathan walked hand in hand as they strolled through the park. Nathan skipped a little and every once and awhile he would stop and kick sticks and rocks out of the way so his mother wouldn't trip. He had to look after her because his baby sister was in mommy's tummy and he didn't want her or mommy to get hurt.

Freddie was just ahead of them laying out the blanket and setting up the items from the picnic basket. Freddie smiled as he watched Nathan stop Sam and pick up several sticks in her path. Sam smiled at him as she caught his eye, and mouthed "I love you" at him. Freddie always thought Sam was beautiful, but a pregnant Sam was beyond compare. She lit the dark corners of his world, she always had. They had married five years ago and had Nathan four years ago. Sam was eight months along with Carla now, and she had a cute waddle, because she was so big she had to waddle. He thought to himself that he must be a sick pervert, because he wanted nothing more right now than to send Nathan to Carly's or his moms and lay Sam down and make love to her.

Sam flicked his head softly and laughed at him, "I know what you're thinking and that's what gave me this bump "Moby", she made sure Nathan couldn't see and placed her had on his crotch and rubbed.

"That's just mean Mrs. Benson," he smirked at her.

Nathan and Freddie helped her down to the blanket and then took a seat. Freddie passed out the plates and then helped Nathan get a chicken leg, potato salad, cole slaw, and baked beans. He then took a breast for himself along with the same things Nathan had and then set the plate of chicken in front of Sam.

She began to eat and watched her two men. Nathan was Freddie made over and he was always trying to act just like him. Sam smiled and thought to herself, 'If he turns out half as well as his father, I'm blessed.' She loved to watch them together. Freddie had a thing for G-Shock watches; he wore one all the time, even in the shower or swimming. Nathan, being the daddy's boy that he was, also HAD to have a G-Shock watch. The watch was so huge on his tiny arm, but if his "dude", because Freddie was better than a dad Nathan insisted, he was a "Dude", had one then Nathan had to have one. Where ever Freddie was, Nathan wasn't far behind. Sam marveled at how strong the bond was between the two of them. Freddie was a natural father, just like he was a husband. Not a day went by that Freddie, Sam could never bring herself to call him Fred like everyone else did, didn't tell her and show her how much he loved her. It was the showing part that had brought about her current pregnancy. She laughed to herself, miss one little pill, but she wouldn't trade anything for her life at this moment or the baby girl that would soon be here.

Six months to the day that they made love for the first time they married. Sam was terrified before the ceremony, but as Spencer walked her down the aisle and she saw Freddie smile at her it all went away. The months after that first night together had been more than she had ever hoped for. She was amazed at how naturally they worked together, plus he could fuck like nobody's business! She felt a blush cross her face and felt Freddie's eyes on her. She turned to look at him and almost lost it when he raised his left eyebrow and gave her his "let's get it on" smirk. God she loved this man!

Freddie had taken the world by storm at Pear. He created some of the most used apps and phones on the planet. He had everyone throwing money and jobs at him, but he chose to stay with Stan White and Pear. He had more money than his sixth removed grandchildren could spend, but he and Sam chose to live a simple life. No mansion or Limo's, just SUV's and a six bedroom, three bathroom house.

When he and Sam finally got together, the pieces of Freddie's life finally fell into place. He had spent his life chasing someone else's dream, his mom's dream, Carly's dream, everyone's but his own. His own dreams scared him so he had hidden them away and let life roll over him. Then he had met Noel and things began to change, he finally saw what life could be like if he went after the dreams that he had, and he found that he could have what he wanted if he just reached for it. Without a doubt the single defining moment of his life was the plane crash. His body had been broken and he had died, twice, and he had learned that he was far more than he thought. He had talked to death and learned that everyone serves a purpose and is part of a much bigger plan. That time, somewhere between life and death, Fred Benson had been emancipated from his fears; he learned what life was about by dying. He never looked back, he found he no longer needed to, forward was all that mattered. It was that knowledge that helped him when he lost Noel, and it was that knowledge that let him finally take the bold move of taking Sam away from her date that night and telling her how he felt. He lived his life like that now, NO FEAR, whatever happened, happened, you either accept it or you let it roll you over, and Fred Benson didn't let anything or anyone roll over him. He found the peace he had always wanted in Sam's arms. She gave him a reason to get up and a reason to fight every day. She had given him the most perfect son a man could ask for and was about to give him an equally perfect daughter.

Freddie and Nathan began to play tag after they ate lunch, as Sam watched them. Nathan was laughing and had a smile on his face that would melt the hardest of hearts. Sam loved to hear his laugh because it was one of total abandonment.

Sam felt the first sharp pain and her water broke. She sat there for a minute, just waiting for the contraction to stop. As soon as it did she called out to Freddie, "Hey baby, I've got a little girl that's ready to meet her Dad and older brother."

Freddie and Nathan helped her up and back to the car. They had taken to carrying Sam's hospital bag everywhere they went over the last few weeks. As Freddie drove, Sam called Carly and asked her to come and sit with Nathan while they were in the delivery room. Carly was also in charge of getting the word out to the rest of their friends and family.

Carly was still single and was still a big flirt, but was very loyal to her friends. She seemed in no hurry to give up her single lifestyle.

She beat them to the hospital and was waiting when they walked in. Nathan ran and gave Carly a huge hug, "Aunt Carly, Aunt Carly, my sister is going to come today," he bounced around giddily, unable to control his excitement.

"Calm down Nathan," Freddie smiled at his son, "Carla may be like you and take awhile to get here. Be good and mind aunt Carly, ok?"

"Yes sir, I will," he promised Freddie.

"I love you Nate potatobug," Sam grinned as he hugged her.

"I love you to momma," he smiled at her, "Tell Carla I'll be right here waiting for her."

"You got it dude," Freddie fist bumped him.

"Ok Mrs. Benson, " an orderly came up to her, "let's get you back to a room and see what we can do about getting that baby out of you."

.

.

Three hours later, Dr. Greg Wellby step back into the room. He had been checking on Sam's dilation every thirty minutes. Sam and Freddie were much calmer than they had been with Nathan. They were scared out of their minds with him, they had no clue what to expect. Now, they were old hands at this and knew they would be fine.

"Well Sam," Dr. Wellby asked her, "you ready to meet your daughter?"

"We both are," Sam squeezed Freddie's hand and smiled.

"Well, let's not keep this young lady waiting anymore," he patted her hand and smiled as an orderly came in and rolled Sam down to the birthing room. They got her over on the table and her feet in the stirrups and Freddie in a gown. He stood beside her and held her hand. He leaned down and kissed her forehead and whispered, "I love you Sam Benson, with all my heart."

"I love you Freddie Benson, with all my heart, despite what I'm going to be calling you in the next little bit," Sam sucked in a breath of air as a sharp contraction hit her. She squeezed Freddie's hand till it turned almost purple.

"Push for me Sam," the doctor told her, "and keep pushing till I say stop."

Sam shook her head yes and kept doing her breathing. After about thirty seconds (which seemed like hours) Dr. Wellby told her to stop.

"One more big push Sam and that's it," he coached her, "Ready? Push!"

Sam pushed with all her might and felt Carla slide out. For about two seconds no sound was heard, and then all five pounds fifteen pounds of blue eyed blond haired Carla Faye Benson screamed so loud that Freddie and Sam were sure windows must have cracked. Freddie took the scissors from the doctor and cut the umbilical cord and the nurse took her to clean her up.

Sam felt some was wrong she hurt badly and didn't know why.

The doctor heard her intake of air and turned around and raised his eyebrows, "Nurse we're going to need another incubator in here stat, we have someone playing hide and seek."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Freddie and Sam both said at the same time.

"It would appear that Carla had some company in there," the doctor smiled, "Even with all the advances in medicine, sometimes me miss things, Ok Sam here we go, big push."

Sam rose up and pushed again. After thirty seconds she stopped and caught her breath.

"One more big push Sam and that's all," he told her.

Twelve minutes after Carla was born, her as yet unnamed sister came into the world. She cried much softer than her sister and at four pounds and eleven inches was much smaller. After she was cleaned up, she and Carla were brought to Sam and Freddie.

The both had tears in their eyes as they looked at their daughters. Carla looked at Sam and just looked at her, letting her eye roam over her mother.

"Freddie," Sam said after a few seconds, "how would you feel about the name Noel Shay Benson for our surprise guest?"

Freddie looked up at her and said, "You really want to do that?"

"She was my friend babe," Sam smiled a sad smile at him, "and because of her we're here now, so yes, I want to do it."

"Well Noel Shay Benson," Freddie spoke to the brown haired and eyed girl, "how do you feel about it?"

Noel snaked a tiny hand out and grabbed his finger and yawned. He big brown eyes bored into Freddie. Sam noticed that when Freddie spoke that Carla even turned her head and stared at him. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, "Not even an hour old yet and they are both "Daddy's girls". God they are beautiful Freddie."

"They take after their mother, sweetpea," he bent down and gave her a long kiss, "I love you so much."

After about an hour, Carly, Nathan, Spencer, Stan White, and Sam's sister filed into the room. They were all shocked to see two tiny bundles instead of one. Nathan walked up to them holding his blanket and looked puzzled, "If they were giving out extra ones, why didn't you get me a brother instead of another sister?"

"Afraid it doesn't work like that dude," Freddie laughed.

"Dude, can I borrow your knife?" he asked.

Freddie took it out and opened it for him, "What'ca gonna do with it dude?"

Nathan took the knife and cut his blanket in two pieces and handed Freddie back the knife.

"Now that I'm the big brother and second man of the house, I don't need it anymore so I want to give it to Carla and, what is my other sister's name?"

"Noel, honey, Noel," Sam beamed at everyone.

"Nate, that's so sweet, I'm sure they will love it," Sam kissed his cheek.

Everyone took turns holding the two girls, always under the watchful eye of big brother Nathan. After everyone left, Carly took Nathan home and left Freddie, Sam, and the girls at the hospital. Freddie stood in the corner of the room and stared at his girls. He had been so blessed that he found himself getting down on his knees and closing his eyes, and he began to pray out loud, "I'm not much of a praying man, but I look at all the beauty around me, and I know that you put it here. I don't know what I did to deserve all of this but I want to thank you for my family and my life. I've been blessed with much more than I deserve."

"We've all been blessed to have you baby," Sam whispered as she kneeled down beside him, "You're God's blessing to us."

She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed as he turned to kiss her. They both stood up and walked to the crib where Carla and Noel slept, Carla's tiny arm around Noel. Freddie turned around and picked Sam up and laid her on the bed and then lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I love you Mrs. Benson," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you Mr. Benson," she whispered back to him, just before he pulled her into a deep long kiss.

Thanks for sticking around and reading this story. I hope everyone has enjoyed it. I'm working on "Moon Dust" right now and hope to have the first few chapters up in a few weeks, plus I have a few other stories I'm trying to work on. As always, let me know what you think.


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